Like Father, Like Son
by Galaxina-the-Seedrian
Summary: "The resemblance is uncanny," Norm said in a happy monotone voice, "He is definitely your son." There was a dull thud when Phineas fainted. Doofenshmirtz could only stare in pure shock. More info inside; rated t for blood, abuse, and character death
1. Prologue

**This is an AU; either it takes place in the first or second dimension. I have no clue (although I'm pretty sure it's in the second dimension, although they wear their normal clothes except the resistance, and Perry isn't a platyborg). As of now it is your choice. Enjoy.**

**P&F**

**Prologue**

_Phineas Flynn was only two when the Tri-State Area had been taken over by the evil Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz. It was just happened during the time Linda, Phineas' mother, had started dating again. His father had left him, his mother, and Candace his older sister a few months back, not that Phineas would remember him in the future or anything. No one but Linda knew the reason of why he left, but no one dared ask, as they didn't want to hurt her. However, if Phineas was old enough to question it, he would ask through innocent curiosity._

_Despite all that had happened to him and his family, Phineas seemed to be the only one remaining positive. Him and Ferb, that is. Ferb was the son of Lawrence Fletcher, who Linda had been dating. Almost instantly did the two become best friends. They never argued, they did almost everything together, they liked the same things. It's almost impossible to find a friend like that._

_When Phineas was four, the schools were closed. Drastically in only two years did things change; Candace had been disappearing to who knows where? So did Perry, they're newly adopted pet platypus, but he did that ever since they got him, so they didn't worry too much. The bright side of things was that Linda and Lawrence had been married in secret; the reason was that marriage was illegal now. The Flynn/Fletcher family was happy, especially Phineas and Ferb, who now could be with each other all the time, considering they were brothers._

_Lawrence was diagnosed with cancer when Phineas turned five. It was a good thing that Dr. Doofenshmirtz didn't ban hospitals. Even he wasn't that evil. Every other week, Lawrence went to the hospital to check his vital organs, especially his lungs. Ferb was probably the most worried. He was afraid that his father would die, that one day he may not come back from the hospital. _

_Phineas, more optimistic than ever, was always there to comfort and cheer him up._

_When Phineas was six, he and Ferb found their knack for building things. Just about anything that an adult could do, Phineas and Ferb could do as well (if not, better). The only downside was that Candace would always try to stop them. And for good reason too. The Norm-bots had been scouting the neighborhood since Dr. Doofenshmirtz's reign began. If something were to happen to Phineas and Ferb…she would never forgive herself._

_Sadly, Lawrence died when Phineas was seven. Although the funeral was cut short thanks to the Norm-bots, everyone was too sad to think about the circumstances, especially Ferb. He knew this would happen one day…he just hoped it wouldn't happen so soon. Phineas seemed to be the only one who could comfort him. But it didn't last, sadly._

_Three months later, Phineas learnt that Ferb was being sent back to his biological mother in England. This he couldn't handle. He never met his real father, that was true, but Lawrence was like a real father to him. He was lucky he didn't fall too deep into sorrow during the funeral, but now Ferb was leaving too?_

_This couldn't be happening to him! It had to be a nightmare, it just had to be. That's what Phineas was thinking the day Ferb left. A week later, Candace disappeared again, only this time she didn't come back. Phineas only prayed that his mother or Perry didn't disappear as well and never come back._

_Sooner or later, he had begun wishing that he hadn't wished it. On his mother's behalf that is. Sure she loved Lawrence and was the second saddest at the funeral, and she loved Ferb like a son, but when Candace disappeared she went completely bonkers! Worse of all, she took it all out on Phineas, as if his life couldn't get any worse from there. The only friend he had left now was Perry, and he was a platypus._

_When Phineas turned eight, it seemed like the entire positive outlet he had seemed to quietly vanish from existence. There was no telling how he felt: sad, angry, even betrayed. Betrayed by the little family he had left; Candace for leaving him and his mother for going completely abusive on him. It completely broke him._

_And yet, on one fateful day, there was a glimmer of hope. While Phineas was cleaning out the basement (Linda was grocery shopping and expected it to be cleaned before she got home) he found a box of his father's old possessions. At first he thought it belonged to his stepfather, but when he looked into it he couldn't believe his eyes. This belonged to his biological father. _

_There was a shining red toolbox inside, with all sorts of tools, and a picture of the family. Phineas felt crestfallen when he saw that his father was cut out of the picture. It seemed like his mother didn't want him to find out who his father was. But the one thing that caught his eye was a note. A note signed for Phineas to read only. When he read the letter, there was a newborn hope arose inside of Phineas. Just when Phineas was reading it, Perry came down and saw the letter._

"_Oh, there you are Perry," Phineas said, "Look what I found."_

_Perry let out a chatter that made Phineas assume that it meant he was asking what it was. The naïve boy grinned and said, "It's a note from my dad. My REAL dad! This was exactly what I needed!"_

_Indeed it was. Phineas knew exactly what he had to do. It was stupid. No, it was beyond stupid. It was completely insane! It would never work, would it?_

_But he was willing to take a chance. He was going to find his father, with or without anyone's help._

_He, Phineas Flynn, the one who was just the picture of almost complete innocence was running away._

**A/N: Actually, real platypuses are really vicious, and have a venomous bite. In other words, not really the best pet choice. Unless you prefer death.**

**Anyways, how do you like it? Bad I assume? Or by some miracle good? I NEED TO KNOW!**

**Please review; no flaming or spamming (stupid pointless annoying, messages; that spells spam), but critical advice is advised.**

**Also, I am still working on my other P&F stories Ferb's Goodbye, and Phineas and Ferb: The Lion King, so don't worry. I just wanted to write this story so badly it wouldn't leave my mind. Hope you like it.**


	2. Things You See in the TriState

**HA! Take that Wrter's Block! I managed to continue this! In your face! WOO!**

**Note: I may have made Perry a little OOC. But then again, I think I got it spot on. :3**

**Anyways, enjoy :D**

_**Chapter 1: Things You See in the Tri-State**_

**(Perry's POV)**

My name is Perry the Platypus; former secret agent of OWCA, and pet of Phineas Flynn. It's been about a year since the incident. Since all of our questions were answered. Fellow agents of mine, the ones still alive, ask me, "how'd you cope with the changes?"

My response: "Things didn't change. Things maybe different, but they didn't change."

If anything, things were revealed to me. Things I wish I didn't know as of now. Curiosity killed the cat, you know? And though it all started when my crazy owner ran away before, the true madness took place long ways after.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Phineas and I were hiding behind a trash can in an ally. We both could see several Norm-Bots flying past in a double-file line. One Norm-Bot turned its head towards us. I held my breath, feeling Phineas holding his. We both sighed when the Norm-Bot flew to the others, not noticing us at all. Probably thought it was a wild animal or something. "That was close," Phineas said, "How about we rest here for now?"

Phineas turned and sat against the wall, setting me beside him. As I looked at the boy, who gave me a cheesy smile (we nearly got caught because of him, after all), I looked back at the things we had gone through for the past...one year...it had been one year since Phineas found that darn letter. That's how long we've been running through the Tri-State area trying to figure out who the boy's father is. This kid is crazy. Determined, but crazy. And if you're so much as to wonder, nope, we still haven't found him.

I think back to all those times we were nearly captured and or murdered but Norm-bots. Whose fault was this again? Let me see...oh yes, I know who to blame.

Hear me, Mr. Flynn, or whoever you are? I blame _you_ for this! The least you could do is give us a clue as to who or where you are, but _no_, you assumed that your youngest child could find you on his own. Be lucky that I'm around, otherwise your son would either be a Cyborg or mince-meat.

Suddenly, we heard a trash can being knocked over far behind us.

_Speaking of Cyborgs..._

"Oh, c'mon!" Phineas shrieked at the sight of the panda-borg as he quickly scrambled to his feet.

Peter the Panda was just one of the many agents that were, so to speak, roboticized. I got that one word from a show Phineas and Ferb used to watch, and besides, seeing them now only half or part of what they used to be, it seemed to fit. We both began backing away slowly as Peter turned his left hand into a gun, aiming it at us. It was rare for us to see Cyborgs, and that was a good thing. These things were made differently from the Norm-bots; while the Norm-bots were made to keep things in line, Cyborgs were made to kill those who refused to stay in that line.

Let's just say that me and Phineas had been the lucky ones.

As I fought between whether to blow my cover or just run for it. Even though the OWCA has disbanded a long time ago, there was still the problem of Dr. Doofenshmirtz finding out who I was. That would be a one-way ticket to torture. That, or turning into a Cyborg and doing his every bidding. To be honest, I'd rather do the first thing. Not that I would let them get the chance.

But before I could react, Phineas grabbed me and ran out of the alley and down the opposite direction of where we last saw the Norm-bots. And just in time, too, Peter was firing at us like crazy. I looked back to see Peter flying straight at us while shooting beams from his gun-hand. Phineas made a clean turn around the corner of a factory-like building, just before coming to a complete stop. In front of us were two other Cyborgs, Pinky the Chiuahua, and Terry the Turtle, both who were good friends of mine, snarling at us angrilly. I cringed at the sight of them. Suddenly, their hands turned into guns as well, once again, aiming them at us. Just as they fired, Phineas quickly ducked. We both turned to see that Peter had been behind us during the attack, and was hit by the lasers. As Peter layed on the ground flinching in pain, Phineas got up ran from the pursuing Cyborgs.

Unfortunately, Phineas nearly ran toward the Norm-bots, and before he could retreat in a different direction, we were spotted by one of them. Not. only were we being chased by two Cyborgs, but we were also being chased by about five Norm-bots. Great.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Normal POV)**

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE CANCLEING THE DEAL?"

Dr. Doofenshmirtz smirked at Dr. Diminutive as he began to rant on. He expected this reaction. Dr. Diminutive was always the one with the biggest temper, after all.

"Well, considering your height-."

"It's not a Napoleon complex!"

"...I never said it was," Dr. Doofenshmirtz continued, "And considering you keep making my Norm-bots explode-."

"It's not my fault you put self-destruct buttons on them," Dr. Diminutive interrupted again, "Who does that, anyway?"

"Let me finish," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, starting to lose his patience, "You're begining to make progress of expanding my rule alot more difficult."

"But don't you think bombing my empire is a little harsh?"

Dr. Doofenshmirtz looked thoughtful for a moment. Then he merely shrugged before pressing a red button on his desk. The patch of flooring that Dr. Diminutive was standing on opened like slide doors, revealing a chute. As Dr. Diminutive fell, Dr. Doofenshmirtz snickered before closing it. Just then, a Nomr-bot came in with a plate full of muffins. "Muffin time!"

"You said that five minutes ago," Dr. Doofenshmirtz pointed out, "I really should check out your wiring."

"Sir," another Norm-bot flew in, "One of the Cyborgs have been injured."

Just then, two female nurse robots were dragging a stretcher down the hall, with Peter the Panda on it, down the hall. Dr. Doofenshmirtz stared in shock. "Already," He asked, "Wow, you'd think they'd do better considering they used to be secret agents. How the heck did that happen?"

"He was hit by lasers from two other Cyborgs," the Norm-bot replied while pushing away his counterpart who was offering a muffin, "They were chasing after someone and accidentally shot him."

"Was it one of the Resistance?" Dr. Doofenshmirtz asked, almost menancingly.

"I don't think so," the Norm-bot continued, "None of us have seen them with the other members, and he was wearing Dooferalls."

"Wait a moment, you said them. There's another?"

"Just a platypus, sir."

Dr. Doofenshmirtz raised an eyebrow. _Who in the right mind would have a platypus for a pet? Unless..._

"Did you manage to capture them?"

"No, they got away," the Norm-bot replied, "And don't ask how, sir, they just...vanished."

Now what had really happened was that Phineas ran into another alley. Unlike the other ally that he ran to, this one had a ladder on on of the tall buildings. Either he had climbed up onto the roof-tops with Perry on his back, or they hid in a dumpster. Luckily for them, the Norm-bots, as strong as they were, weren't smart, so either way they were safe from harms way. Dr. Doofenshmirtz, however, was no fool, and knew that they could've missed a few details.

"Have you seen them on more then one occassion," Dr. Doofenshmirtz asked, "Think very carefully about what you're about to say."

"Uh...um," The Norm-bot stuttered, "...Oh, look at the time, have fun eating your muffins."

"Wait," The Norm-bot stopped in his track, "You have seen them before, haven't you?"

"...Yes."

"And all of those times you've chased them down, you just let them escape?"

"Yes, I mean no, I mean, like I said, they just dissapear! It's not our fault!"

"And where did they dissapear to?"

"An alley."

"...Sigh, get out."

"W-what?"

"Get out of my office, now."

"B-b-but-."

"Before I lose my temper."

The Norm-bot immediatlly obeyed, dragging the malfunctioning Norm-bot with him. It was then that Dr. Doofenshmirtz regretted giving his Norm-bots emotions and free-wills. What was he thinking? They were robots for crying out loud, they had no feelings!

Now that he had hought about it, many of the Cyborgs he had made from the OWCA agents were exotic animals that were oddly well-trained. If this kid was seen more than once with a platypus, then it was at least well trained. Meaning that said platypus was possibly a former agent. He attempted to shake it off. There was no way that a platypus, who does little to nothing, could be a secret agent...but then again...

_I better learn more about this kid and his platypus, _he thought to himself.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"I promise I'll be back."_

_"That's what dad said. You said it yourself."_

_"Have I ever broken a promise?"_

_"Well, no, but..."_

_"Don't worry, Phineas. I'll be fine. And don't say a word to mom."_

_"Okay. But don't say I didn't warn you."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_She never did come back, _Phineas thought to himself, trying hard to sleep on the concrete roof.

Perry was already fast alseep, which was unfortunate considering his snoring was intolerble. Oddly enough it wasn't Perry that was keeping him up that late. As optimistic as he tried to be, there was still something he couldn't comprehend that was haunting him. Whether it was a memory, a hope that would never be, or some force that was making him uneased, he may never know. He began stroking Perry's head. "Do you think Candace is still out there, boy?"

The platypus chattered (in his sleep) in response. Phineas sighed. "Yeah. Me too."

**AN:**

**Sorry if this seems rushed. I hadn't really written anything for this story for a while, so I decided to write this. It took me a while, mind you, even if it's so darn short.**

**I'm...actually proud of this chapter. I think I did a good job, not to brag or anything. :D**

**Now, you may notice that most of this chapter revolved around Perry. Well, you won't see that much often, but you will notice that alot of the story is in his POV. Rather than always putting it in Normal POV, we'll be seeing Perry's POV actuially more-so than Phineas and Dr. Doofenshmirtz's POV. He isn't the main focus of the story, he's more like an observer, and we're seeing it all (well half of it) in his POV. The Normal POV will be used usually when he's not around or to explain something that even Perry can't fathom. What those things are, I won't say.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. I probably won't be able to see the comments, since my dad is moving my computer upstairs in either my room or my sister's room. You see, in the room I use the computer in, their going to be putting new flooring (I think it's gonna be hard-wood, but I dunno, no one ever tells me these things anymore). And even though I will be able to use the computer, I won't be able to use the internet from upstairs. It's the connection or something. I dunno. But you guys won't hear from me until this Monday, so it won't be that long.**

**Hoped you enjoyed this chapter! Please reveiw! :D**

**GTS is out. PEACE!**


	3. Meetings

**Hello, everyone. Here's the next chapter. :3**

**Oh, and you guys know Applejack, right? No reason, just wondering...**

**Danni: He's in this, ain't he?**

**Yes.**

**Danni: Everyone hates Applejack, though.**

**I assume he'll be a little more likable in this dimension**

**Danni: Oh really?**

**Yes. Now shut up so I they can read.**

**I warn you, this is gonna be a little confusing.**

**Enjoy. :3**

**P/F/P/F**

_**Chapter 2: Meetings**_

**(Perry's POV)**

That was how things were for about a year: we run and hide from Norm-Bots, just to look for this kid's father. I wouldn't put it passed us if we had checked the entire Tri-State Area. It had brought me to question if the guy was even here...not that there was any chance of getting out of the Tri-State Area anyway. We were lucky to have gotten out of Danville, more so our home state if we did.

What changed how things were for us probably started the day after that debacle with the Norm-Bots and cyborgs.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"...Hello?"

_What was that voice?_

"Are you still alive?"

_It's not Phineas'. Can't this jerk see I'm sleeping?_

"Ugh, for f-'s sake, wake up!"

I squealed in pain as I felt a small shock at my side, immediately waking up. My vision was clear instantly, and I could tell that I wasn't even on the roof I was on before, but instead some kind of shack. I could also tell that Phineas wasn't even here with me. Instead, beside me was a pygmy goat with a mechanical left-horn that had a a small chord attacked to his robot eye. He wasn't a cyborg, that much was true, but I questioned what had happened to him in the first place. The goat smirked. "Well, if it isn't Perry the Platypus," he said, "Long time no see."

"Who the heck are you," I asked, "And how do you know my name?"

"I knew you wouldn't remember me," the goat said, rather giddily actually, "My name is Applejack. I am a former OWCA agent."

"You were an agent," I asked. I don't remember seeing him before in my life.

The goat, Applejack as he called himself, snickered. "_Your _partner, to be exact," he said with a grin.

My eyes widened in shock. This goat...was my partner? As in my partner in the OWCA? How the heck can that be?

"You're confused, aren't you," Applejack asked, "Not to worry, platypus, alot of people react the same way."

"What are you talking about?"

Applejack's ear twitched, beginning to frown at me. "So many questions," he said, "I suppose you're also wondering where your kid is?"

My kid...Phineas! "Where is he," I asked frantically.

"See what I mean? Questions," Applejack said, "Alot have been asked of lately. Well, if you must know, I should start from the beginning: you and your owner had snuck into the graveyard, where I was at the time, see? I was curious as to see why, when I overheard some Norm-Bots looking around as well. You both ran, they chased you...and then you did the silliest thing I've ever seen an agent do!"

I eyed the goat as he giggled madly. "You actually attacked one of the Norm-Bots," he bleated, "Right in front of the boy! I Can still see the look of shock on his face!"

I listened more to what he had to say, digesting everything I heard. "You know, you're lucky the OWCA disbanded, or they would take you away from the kid in an instant," Applejack stated, "Anyways, you tried to fight back at the Norm-Bots. Not a smart thing to do, by the way, given the fact that one of them knocked you out from behind. After that, the kid tried to save your sorry behind, but ended up failing and getting himself grabbed. Luckily for you, I managed to sneak you away while they weren't looking."

Applejack snickered again, trying hard to cover his mouth with his hoof. I glared, becoming as angry as I could ever be. "You let them take Phineas," I yelled, "Why would you-?"

Suddenly, the goat covered my mouth, and began to glare back at me. "Hush, will you," he said in a whisper, "They may hear, ya big oaf! We're still in the graveyard, you know."

Still in the graveyard? We were still in the graveyard?

"I live here, just so you know," Applejack said, removing his hoof from my mouth, "It makes my job easier, and that is a secret I trust you."

"Uh, pardon," I didn't know what else to say to a comment like that.

"What I cannot trust is the Resistance," he exclaimed, "They will try to assassinate me! I have enemies in high places."

"What are you talking about," I asked.

"None of your business," he said, "Now, the best thing for you to do is to stay low for a while. If I know Dr. Doofenshmirtz well enough, it's that he's probably trying to lure you there because he knows you're a secret agent and plans to turn you into a cyborg like the others. If you're lucky, by the time you sneak over, you'll be able to save your owner from death."

"And if I'm not lucky," I asked but was cut off.

"You're anthromorphic, ain't ya," he asked, "You figure it out."

I stared at the grinning goat horrified. That was the worst that could happen ever. By now, Phineas could be...

"I can't just leave him with," I trailed off.

"Ya think ya got any choice," Applejack said, "Look, it's stupid to just waltz right in there if you know you can't do anything to help him out."

"But I can," I argued, "If you're an agent like you claim to be, you must know that Dr. Doofenshmirtz was my enemy. I know everything about him."

"And yet, he still managed to take over the Tri-State Area after all," Applejack retorted, another smirk planted on his face.

I just stared, not sure what to do or say. In my heart, I knew he was right. It was my fault that Dr. Doofenshmirtz took over the Tri-State Area. It was my fault that this all had to occur in the first place. I should've revealed myself earlier to Phineas, then he would've at least listened to me during all those times we nearly got killed. I glared again. "I'm not going to let Doofenshmirtz kill Phineas," I said firmly, "I can handle him and the Norm-Bots enough to escape, at least. Now, if you would plase be so kind as to tell me how to get to DEI from here, that would be nice."

Applejack rolled his eyes. "You're one stupid demon-spawn," he said, "Fine. I'll show you how to get there..."

I smiled, but it qucikly changed back to a frown when he said, "...But I'll only show you _my_ way."

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Normal POV)**

_So, let's see:_

_Went into a graveyard to hide. Smart move._

_Learned my platypus is apparently good at martial arts. Completely unexpected._

_And I got captured by Norm-Bots. Double check._

_Am I missing anything..._

"You must be Phineas Flynn, am I right?"

_Oh yeah, I'm being interrogated by the last person I wanted to see. Terrific!_

After being captured by the Norm-Bots, Phineas was immediately taken to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. He was tied to a chair, preventing him from escaping, and was sitting at a table across Dr. Doofenshmirtz. The man seemed so calm now, compared to his reaction to the group of Norm-Bots when he realized that Perry had gotten away. Long-story short he flipped and made sure that the ones in charge of getting the platypus were incinerated. For someone so scrawny, Dr. Doofenshmirtz was pretty intimidating.

"Well," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, waiting for an answer.

Phineas sighed. It wasn't smart to argue with the dictator of his home, not yet. Right now, he'd play his little game. And when he would be put back into his cell he'd make a plan to get out of there. "Yes," Phineas muttered.

The answer was heard loud and clear, and the evil dictator smiled. Oh, how he hated that smile. "I thought so," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, "What are you of all people doing running around in a city like this?"

"I was," there was a pause as he turned to look away, "looking for someone."

The dictator hummed thoughtfully. "And that person would be?"

"...I don't want to talk about it," Phineas answered, "The search has been full of dissapointments."

Heaven knows what Dr. Doofenshmirtz was thinking right then. For some reason, he seemed fine with the answer. That was odd, considering everything else about the man.

"So, I heard that your pet platypus attacked my Norm-Bots," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, changing the subject completely. That was even stranger, given that he seemed a bit curious.

"Yes," Phineas said, "Yes he did."

"Did you know he could do that?"

"Know he could do that," Phineas repeated, "He's a platypus. They're not suppose to do much, even less be a black belt."

"I'll take that as a no then," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, "Then you didn't know that he used to be a secret agent?"

Phineas tried so hard not to twitch. A secret agent? Why would he be a secret agent? It made no sense! He tried to understand, really he did, but it didn't add up. Why didn't Perry tell him this before? Okay, maybe the chattering thing was a big step backward on communication but...what if he could talk the whole time? It felt like several things he had been told in his life were nothing but lies! It was just way too much for him to absorb at the moment.

"Hello? Earth to Flynn."

Phineas snapped back into reality, shaking his head as to get himself out of the funk he had been stuck in for about five minutes. "Good, you're back," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, "Now down to business."

"Business," Phineas asked, earning a death glare from Dr. Doofenshmirtz.

"I ask the questions," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said.

Phineas quickly nodded fearfully. Dr. Doofenshmirtz stood up and walked over behind Phineas, who struggled to see what he was up to. "Now, as you probably know, going outside without the proper paperwork or job application is strictly forbidden," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, "And could sentence you to life in the dungeon...that, or you'd be fed to the Goozim."

"The Goozim," Phineas asked completely unaffected; if anything, he was probably trying hard not to laugh, "Am I suppose to be afraid of that name?"

Phineas' chair was pulled from the back of it, to the point where he and the dictator were making eye contact. "Last chance, kid," Dr. Doofenshmirtz warned.

"Sorry," Phineas stuttered, "C-continue."

"Thank you," with that, Dr. Doofenshmirtz roughly set the chair back as it were and continued, "Anyways, beleive it or not, you're actually in a pretty good state as of now."

Phineas held back the "what" he was about to say. That was a question. "That's right," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, "I'm going to spare you for the time being. You want to know why?"

"Wh...yes," Phineas dared to say.

Doofenshmirtz grabbed the chair again, this time turning it to face him. The man beamed at Phineas evilly, causing the boy to cowar. "You're useful," he answered, "Possibly for several things, but for now, you're bait for my little friend, Perry the Platypus."

Phineas held his breath so long that he almost suffocated. "One more cyborg wouldn't hurt," Dr. Doofenshmirtz snickered, "Afterwards, I may kill you and I may not. That's the jest of it, kid."

"I-I...y-you..." Phineas couldn't speak coherently for any sentences to be audible, not that the dictator didn't want to hear that helpless stutter.

Dr. Doofenshmirtz laughed at the poor boy, tensing up the child a little more. "What's the matter," he asked, "Did I break you already?"

Phineas didn't say a word, not even after Dr. Doofenshmirtz stopped laughing. After the conversation...interrogation...whatever it may have been, he was thrown into a cold cell, where he'd stay until who knows when. It didn't matter to him...he just hoped that Perry would be smart enough to stay away.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Perry's POV)**

"ARE YOU INSANE?"

Applejack had introduced me to his plane: Horny Gonzalas. It didn't even look like it was in working condition. The wings seemed bent, one of the wheels were deflated, and I could only guess what was wrong with the controls of the thing. His plan was basically to take the plane to Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated. My reaction was the answer above. The goat grinned at me and nodded, saying, "Yes, yes I am."

"You expect me to ride on that and live," I asked.

"You jus love asking questions," Applejack chuckled, albiet feeling annoyed, "You wanted to get to DEI and save your kid, didn't you? This is the fastest way as of now."

"It doesn't even look like it could fly," I said, and after witnessed an unidentified peice of the plane fall off.

Applejack began climbing into the plane, also forcing me in as well.

"Horny," Applejack asked, "No, no, no, this baby can fly anywhere without crashing, I assure you."

"I dunno if I can beleive that."

"Don't worry about it," Applejack told me, "I haven't crashed yet."

My mistake to actually feel safe as I buckled myself in. "Really," I asked.

"Yep," he said, "Oh, and by the way, platypus, this is my first time flying it."

My eyes widened in horror as I turned to him. "What?"

Applejack flicked the switches of the plane on. The engine began to growl, and the vehicle began to move, faster, and faster. Soon, the plane began flying into the air. The pilot grinned while I held onto my seat. I didn't know what was worse: the fact that the plane was most likely to fall apart, the fact that the pilot had no hands, or just the fact that the mentally defficient goat was the one piloting.

"HERE WE GO!"

I'm dead.

**A/N:**

**And there's chapter 2 everybody. I'll try harder to update this story next time. No promises, though, I don't want to dissapoint anyone more than I probably have. ^^;**

**Anyways, I hope you liked it. Please, though, constructive criticism is advised. If not, reveiws are awesome too. :3**

**Thank you and have a nice day, evening, or whatever time you're reading this. :D**


	4. Unnecessary Complications

**Ha, told you guys I would update this sooner. You didn't beleive me, didn't you? Well, guess what: I don't blame you, so there!**

**Just so you know, this chapter introduces another character...oh, and Perry and Applejack aren't here.**

**Anyways, hope you enjoy. :D**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 3: Unnecessary Complications**

Of the years that Dr. Doofenshmirtz had ruled over the Tri-State Area, people had wondered what they had done to deserve such misery. They wondered why the laws were so vigerous, they wondered why their children had to suffer what they never suffered through in their childhood, and they wondered why they were forced to live in fear with the Norm-Bots lurking around. But not one asked why he took over in the first place. They didn't care about the answer to that, seeing as they thought they knew him enough to know the answer. None knew the answer better than Perry the Platypus, and sad to say, it wasn't much of an answer as it was ambiguity.

The man was stubborn, and rarely even brought up anything about his family, his former friends (if he had any to begin with), or for the most part his past in general. He had said that his reason for taking over-or for the time being, wanting to take over-was because of a toy train he called Choo-Choo, but it was more than that. Besides, he said so himself to the platypus that he lost interest in the toy a long time ago, possibly right when he lost it even. It was vague to tell, but from the little information he got, he figured that he did lose something. Then, he more pieces he found, the more he began to realize that it was no object that he had lost, but an actual person. That was it though, he had no idea what sex this person was, much less the person's name.

But to answer the trivial questions people had constantly cared to ask, I guess it's simple to say:

The laws were as vigorous as it were in Gimmelshtump, possibly even more. It was all he knew, probably, how he was taught how things were. True, it didn't give him a right, but there was more to it that that. Banning certain things made his role as a dictator alot easier. For example, as mentioned earlier he had gotten rid of all the schools. Without schools, no one would surpass his knowledge, and then no one would be able to beat him. His reasons for the law were basically by pure stradegy, and if anything else his own understanding. He would laugh at everyone's pain and misery, but spite was no key role to his rule.

As for the reason of the children, they were the future of the Tri-State Area. He had to crush their spirits first, so that they would never hope to be rid of him. So that they would never try to get rid of him when they learned how, if they ever learned how. The only trouble he had with this plan were the Resistance, who all constantly tried to get in the way. They were in no chance of winning, however, considering the advantage he had over them. To him, they were merely pawns from another side, without a king or queen to win the game. It was no worry to him, not one bit.

Finally, the question of why they had to live in fear...why even ask that question to begin with? It had been dealt with by many dictators: Hitler, Napoleon, Herod, and so on. It was so simple yet most people in Danville or of any of the other cities among the three states failed to understand. If people fear you, the more submissive they will become. Simple as that. Clean and crystal to see and hear.

To be blunt, even explaining these were a clear cliche. Shows how blind these people were, and explains how they were taken over so easily. Had Perry not even appeared to face Dr. Doofenshmirtz, they would've been enslaved sooner. Whether to be sorry for these fools or not would be the question we all should ask among ourselves, not a "woe as me" comment. And yet, that's how it was. Every, single, day.

As for Phineas, his situation reminded him of all he went through: it was cold, dark, uncomfortable...the only difference he could find was the fact that he was alone, and that wasn't even a good thing. Still, if there was one thing he learned from all of this, it's that there's always a glimmer of hope somewhere.

.

.

.

_"Okay, let's see: got an extra pair of clothes, a bit of food, and a laser. That should do it."_

_Right after Phineas finished packing the few items he needed, he turned to see Perry, staring at him. Despite having the dumb animal look, Phineas could tell that he thought he was crazy bringing a laser with him. Why would a laser be in their house in the first place?_

_"What," Phineas asked, "Dad made this, Candace told me so. And besides, there are Norm-Bots out there, not to mention Cyborgs. This way, when worse comes to worse, I'll be ready."_

_._

_._

_._

_How could I have possibly forgotten about a laser, _Phineas thought as he took the small weapon out of his pocket. It was small, about the size of a mini-version of a flashlight. Still, from what he was told by his sister, this thing was probably very strong. The boy looked around to see if there was anyone guarding the cells. Not one being was in the halls of the dungeon. More than likely they were guarding the entrance of the place. What they forgot, however, were the vents at the end of the hall. Phineas took a deep, nervous breath, mentally crossing his fingers. _Here goes nothing...except my life in general...*gulp*_

.

.

.

"Hold still, hold still!"

The Pandaborg struggled in the grip of a woman, around Dr. Doofenshmirtz's age. She growled, pinning the cyborg down on the table.

"It's your own fault for getting hurt in the first place," the woman said, "Cyborg or not, you're still mortal you idiot."

"Hello, Alice."

The woman stopped what she was doing, twitching as she turned to Dr. Doofenshmirtz, who smirked. "I preffered to be called Dr. Schnitzel," she said in an aggravated tone, "Now, please, if you excuse me, I have a patient here."

"Let me guess," Dr. Doofenshmirtz said, walking over beside her, "He was hit by a bus again, wasn't he?"

"Yep," Dr. Schnitzel answered, "It's always the Cyborgs getting hit by those...that, and for some reason taxis."

Dr. Schnitzel shook her head and turned to glare at Dr. Doofenshmirtz. "Besides annoying me like and immature brat," Doofenshmirtz glared, intimidating her, "W-what do you want?"

.

.

.

_Just a little more...almost..._

With that, three of the metal bars of the cell fell to the floor with a loud clang. Phineas flinched and turned to see anyone outside had heard. Luckily, the Norm-Bots guarding pretty much brushed it off as another Cyborg tripping. Phineas snuck through, and quietly ran to the vents. Once again, he used the laser tool to open the vent entrance, and it went just as well, even quieter than before.

.

.

.

"You want me to heal this prisoner of yours and get some more information from him," Dr. Schnitzel asked, "You said before that you already interrogated him, why would you need more?"

"He's hiding something," Dr. Doofenshmirtz answered, "And besides, we may be able to find an easier way of catching Perry that way."

"You know, if you'd be a little nicer-."

"Are you questioning my methods?"

"N-no! Of course not! W-why would I? They make so much...sense..."

_Most of the time, that is...as if I would actually tell him that out loud..._

Dr. Schnitzel, to say the least, was like everyone else, except for the fact that she knew very well for the reasons of the questions before. Although she found everyone else to be pretty stupid, she couldn't blame them for being afraid. There were some differences, considering that she worked for Dr. Doofenshmirtz. For one thing, she wasn't threatened for asking a question, probably because she asked what seemed important for him to answer. Another difference was that the threats he'd give her were different, but just as severe...she didn't really want to think about it.

.

.

.

"Hey, Norm?"

"Yeah, Norm?"

"Have you noticed that there hasn't been much noises from inside the dungeon."

"That's because we only have one prisoner as of now."

"Oh...what happened to the others?"

"Got fed to the Goozim...or fell into lava."

"That's too bad."

Silence.

"Do you think we should check the dungeon again?"

"I highly doubt a child could get out behind pure iron bars."

"I just have a weird feeling."

"We're robots; we have no feelings."

"We're robots? I thought we were Norm-Bots."

Pause.

"...Of all the Norm-Bots here, you must be the dimmest."

"Thank you."

"Your welcome."

Just then, above them was a noise in the ventalation system.

"What is that noise, Norm?"

"I have no idea, Norm."

The noise got louder, and louder, until the shaft above them started shifting ever so slightly.

"It must be a rat."

"What size of a rodent could possibly make that noise?"

"...A big one?"

"I want to hate you, but I have no love in me to begin with."

"A Resistance member then?"

"Now that makes much more sense."

The Norm-Bot that was depicted as the smart one turned his left mechnical hand into a laser cannon, and at the shaft, and began shooting at the screws. Half of the shaft fell due to weight, and out rolled Phineas, who fell to the ground. The boy groaned as he turned to the Norm-Bots, to which he gasped in horror. There was a long, and possibly awkward, silence among them.

"So we were both wrong," The dumber Norm-Bot said, "It was the prisoner. I knew we should've checked the cells, but no-."

Phineas, seeing no point of using the laser on them, quickly left the two quarreling Norm-Bots, making a break for the left.

"Wait, he's getting away! After him!"

"Not after I'm finished making my point!"

"Feelings or none, you're still an imbecile."

"Thank you."

.

.

.

The sound of lasers could be faintly heard from the office.

"What the heck was that," Dr. Schnitzel asked.

The answer had already came to the man.

"It's only been an hour," Dr. Doofenshmirtz exclaimed, "How could he have escaped so quickly?"

"This is why you shouldn't trust the Norm-Bots to guard the dungeons," Dr. Schnitzel quickly muttered; thankfully, she wasn't heard.

.

.

.

Only ten minutes had passed and Phineas was already being chsed by at least four Norm-Bots. Not only that, but the place seemed to be in lockdown mode, as giant metal walls began closing from the ceiling. He was about to turn and shoot them with his laser when he noticed in front of him that one of the walls were just about to close. He turned to grin at the Norm-Bots, and right after slid under the wall before it shut on the pursuers. Phineas sighed in relief.

_That was close, _he said standing back up, _But I'm not out of the woods yet. I've gotta keep moving._

"Halt!"

Phineas looked to see another Norm-Bot in front of him. He would've questioned why the Cyborgs weren't coming after him, but he decided that could wait after he escaped. Phineas aimed his laser at the Norm-Bot, who seemed to snicker before getting shot in the face and falling to the side, lifeless. The boy beamed at his tool and weapon.

"This thing is awesome," he thought out loud, and then began running once more.

**A/N:**

**And then we go off to a cliffhanger. :3**

**Applejack: The fans hate you so much right now.**

**Don't worry, I'll work on the next chapter right away. Anyways, hoped you liked it. :3**


	5. The Chase Continues

**Okay; here is the next chapter. I've been working on Across the Psychotic Dimension for a while; and I still am working on it! I love parodies and humor combined! :3**

**Anyways, to the point...I am sad to say that I am not into Invader Zim as I used to be. I am now a fully pledged Phineas and Ferb fan. For that reason, Invader Zim will be a franchise of which I will work on the least.**

**As for now, I need to work on this...I LOVE THIS STORY MORE THAN ANY OF MY OTHER WORKS (along with Across the Psychotic Dimension, and Phineas and Ferb: The Lion King, of course)! I mean, seriously, Ferb's Goodbye...I keep getting writer's block. And sure, I get writer's block from this too, but I actually know where I'm going with this! :3**

**So to recap, for anyone who is just reading this: Phineas is being chased by Norm-bots. Plain and simple.**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 4: The Chase Continues**

"This is why you shouldn't trust the Norm-Bots to guard the dungeons," Dr. Schnitzel quickly muttered; thankfully, she wasn't heard.

Or that's what she thought, until Doofenshmirtz turned to her with a dark glare. He only had one eye, and yet he could stare deep into her very soul. Schnitzel cringed as Doofenshmirtz turned away. "What do you think we should do," Schnitzel asked.

Doofenshmirtz chuckled. "I was only surprised that he got out so quickly," Doofenshmirtz said, "I'm not worried about him actually escaping. The Norm-Bots may not be intelligent, but they don't need to be. One of them will catch him."

"How come I doubt that," Schnitzel thought out loud.

Doofenshmirtz simply ignored her, much to her relief.

"Still," he said, "I find it odd how he escaped in the first place."

"Uh...did you check his pockets," Schnitzel suggested.

Doofenshmirtz hummed thoughtfully. "I knew I was forgetting something," Doofenshmirtz said calmly, much to Dr. Schnitzel's surprise.

"First you act calm about a prisoner escaping, then you act calm about forgetting something as little as checking a prisoners' pockets," Schnitzel said, "I'm not sure if I should feel afraid or impressed with your behavior right now."

"Doesn't matter," Doofenshmirtz said beginning to leave the room, "I'll be back in my quarters. It seems that I'll be having another chat with _Phineas Flynn_. Meanwhile, you better get your act together."

Schnitzel glared as Doofenshmirtz left. "You know, just because I went to drama school years ago, doesn't make that pun of yours any funnier than it really is," she yelled before getting back to her work, "Hear me? You are _not_ clever, Heinz! NOT! CLEVER!"

.

.

.

So far, Phineas had taken down about five Norm-Bots with his laser. He figured that it would come handy in different situations than damaging his pursuers anyway. And even if it was a stupid idea to rarely even use his laser during the situation, he wasn't thinking straight at the moment. He was surprised that he was even able to get out of his cell, much less get as far as to get passed some of the guards.

Phineas had heard many rumors about those who were sent to prison at Doofenshmirtz Evil Incorporated, how they were treated, and how you'd be lucky if Doofenshmirtz decided to spare you and keep you in the dungeons forever. One person was released, but killed soon after. Phineas didn't know all the details but he was pretty sure that it was a Resistance spy, and that Doofenshmirtz only let him go so he could lure him into a false sense of security. Unfortunately, none of those said rumors had anything to do with anyone actually escaping the cells. For all he knew, he was probably to first to succeed getting out of the prison. Somehow, he didn't feel a sense of pride or comfort because of that. To be honest, it made him feel worse, more or less.

The boy came to a stop, preventing himself from crashing into the wall in front of him. From one side to the other was infinate corridors leading; one leading to who knows where, the other to his freedom. One mistake was all he needed to get back into that prison cell. One chance was all he needed to get out of there alive.

Not caring to use the eenie-meenie-minie-mo technique, he simply ran to the left corridor, while a wave of panic was filling him. He could hear the Norm-Bots coming between the corridors, where he was. He begged that where he was headed was not a dead-end. To his surprise, fate was being oh so kind to him. In front of him this time was not a wall, but a door. He took no second thoughts as he quickly opened the door, and slammed it shut once he got inside. He looked to see that he was in a boiler room, filled with pipes and steamfitters. It reminded him of an engine room in some movie he watched involving a modern ship.

He felt another wave of panic as he heard the sounds of floating Norm-Bots headed for the door. He quickly began to run through the uncomfortably narrow path through the room, with occasional steam blocking his vision and forcing him to stop in order to prevent any burns. Although none of the Norm-Bots couldn't fit through, a couple of them tried to shoot at Phineas, who could only jump (or at least lift one leg higher than the other) and duck as he fled. After a while, the Norm-Bots seemed to have given up for the time being, turned around, and left the room. Phineas managed to know better than to take a break.

_Not out of the woods...not out of the woods..._

It became a quiet chant in his head as he continued running. After a while that seemed like hours to the boy, he found a ladder leading to another level of the room, most likely to an exit of the room. That's when he heard the sounds of the Norm-Bots once again, fainter than last time, but also came with the sound of mechnical foot-steps. He didn't need to think twice about who else came with the polite, monotone, and oddly threatening robots.

_Oh no...no, no, no, no, NO!_

The Norm-Bots couldn't fit through the path of pipes...but the Cyborgs could.

Phineas began climbing up the ladder that felt like hot metal. This time, he didn't care about getting burnt. He didn't even care about escaping anymore. He just wanted to _live_. As he climbed, his brain's gears moved quick enough to make him turn valves like a mad-man, causing steam to blind the Cyborgs that quickly found him. There were about six or seven of them; some were taken down with ease by the steam, but others were more persistant and aimed their weapons at him. Phineas practically jumped onto the higher level before he could be shot by the Cyborgs. The chase began again, this time with mad mechincal animals chasing after him, and he quickly ran through another door, this time not looking around the scenery. This time, he ran into an electric room. It was smaller than the boiler room, and the halls were wider and easier to walk through, but the next door in that led to the exit was...

"LOCKED," Phineas screamed in horror, "NO! OPEN D*** IT, OPEN!"

As he tried despretely pulling the door open, screaming words he heard his mother, along with other upset adults and teens, would mutter or yell when something went bad for them. He knew they were words he should never say. He knew that if Candace or Ferb or even Perry were there they would be disappointed, even shocked with him that he even knew these words. But he didn't care. Not right now.

The Cyborgs blasted the door behind him down, most of them glaring, but one, a cat, grinning like a mad man. The leading Cyborg was low an behold the chihuahua that he and Perry ran from the other day, looking like he was lusting for revenge from what humiliation he and his pet probably caused him and the panda, who wasn't even with the crowd of animals at the moment. The small pink mechanical dog aimed his hand, now turned into an all too familiar gun, at Phineas and fired a green beam at him. The others with him did the same. Phineas let out a cry as he leaped out of the way, the beams instead blasting the locked door down as they did the one now behind them. Smoke filled the room, and the Cyborgs struggled to see what had happened. Phineas, who's eyes were burning, ran through the doorway, down another hall, only to be met with three Norm-Bots waiting for him.

_Crud! Why me? WHY ME?_

.

.

.

_WHY ME? __**WHY ME?**_

The pygmy goat had proven to be more than...skilled, with flying the broken down plane for an animal with hooves, and for the fact that he had supposedly never flown before in his life. Maybe it was to scare him a bit. Perry didn't know. But he could do a lot better without the flips, the spins, and the super-sonic speed that at this very moment was making him queezy.

How long had it been? Only twelve minutes...or was it an hour? Where they were going? Perry wasn't sure anymore. Why they were flying? He couldn't remember.

"Will you stop screaming," Applejack called, turning his head back to the air-sick platypus, "I'm trying to concentrate! And don't you dare throw-up on this plane! This was _your_ idea!"

His idea...HIS IDEA?

Before either of them knew it, they heard something blow. The pygmy goat's eyes widened as he smelt smoke, and quickly went to a calm yet dull frown as he began unbuckling himself, and began climbing out of the plane. Perry shrieked a bit, asking, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Don't you smell the smoke," Applejack asked, not bothering to answer another question, "The engine blew. This thing is either gonna crash or blow up in the air."

"Are you seriously gonna jump," Perry asked.

The pygmy goat tore the platypus out of his seat, not caring if it tore the buckles off. He grinned madly, saying, "I believe the correct question would be: Are _we_ seriously gonna jump?"

Perry gulped.

.

.

.

Phineas ran past the Norm-Bots he had frantically shot down with his laser. While three of the Cyborgs carried away the damaged robots, the other remaining Cyborgs, including the chihuahua, continued to chase after him. Phineas's throat felt like fire.

_So tired. Can't stop. Not out of the woods..._

More green and red beams shot at him, many of them missing, others nearly hitting him.

_Not out of the woods..._

Phineas let out a scream of pain as one of the beams shot him in the arm. Still, he ran, trying not to look back. Where was the exit? Where was the f***ing exit?

_Not out of the woods..._

Then, despite all that he had went through, despite all that he had learned not to do, he turned back, shooting at them with his laser. Only a minute passed before the laser was shot out of his hand. It slammed into the wall, breaking into peices.

_No, no..._

Phineas was shot again, this time at his leg. He nearly fell to his knees, but miraculously kept pushing forward, although begining to slow down.

_That's it, Phineas. Keep going._

He kept cheering himself on as blood drew from the wounds. He continued the chant from before, this time saying it softly.

_Not out of the woods. Not out of the woods. Not out of the woods._

He looked to see another door. Could it be? Could that be the exit out of this horrible place?

_Keep going, Phin. You're almost there! You're so clo-!_

Another scream of pain left his mouth. Another laser hit him...this time in the back. Phineas fell forward, on his hands and knees, tears of pain running down his eyes, blood dripping down, not just from his wounds, but his mouth as well. As the Cyborgs surrounded him, he fell to the side, his vision blurring.

_Not out of the woods...not out of the..._

Phineas closed his eyes, just another figure approached him.

"You stupid, stupid kid..."

.

.

.

Meanwhile, Perry let out a scream of horror as he and Applejack fell from the sky, without even a single parachute.

Yep. He was screwed.

**A/N:**

**Hope you liked it. I worked on this all, freakin, day. I'm sorry if it's short, but right now, it's past midnight, and I need to hit the hay. Please, read, review, and note that constructive criticism is advised. :3**


	6. Through the Eyes of a Platypus

**And we're back! Miss me? I missed you! :3 **

**You are all probably wondering what I am doing updating this story on a school day. And I'll tell you: my dad let me and my sister on the computer for thirty minutes. **

**Yes, Perry is a bit OOC, but considering the fact that he's with a crazy pygmy goat that just forced them both out of a crashing plane without a parachute, his reaction of panic seems understandable.**

**Chapter summery: we take another look at Perry's POV once more; Perry and Applejack get a bit...lost. Includes his memories of Candace, and others who had disappeared.**

**So, yeah, enjoy. :D**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 5: Through the Eyes of a Platypus**

_Perry the Platypus had snuck away, as well as Candace, once again. He was not going to his old base, no, Major Monogram as well as the OWCA had been taken down a while ago, all becoming brainwashed slaves of Dr. Doofenshmirtz. He, Pinky, Peter, and Olive the Otter were supposedly the only ones to have escaped, and they all felt like a bunch of cowards for leaving them behind. Instead, he was going to Isabella's house._

_Perry made in passed all the cleverly hidden traps, all the way to the door of the meeting room. There also was Pinky, and Olive; Peter had gone missing. Upon Perry's arrival, the two animals smiled and greeted him. "So," Pinky said, "How's Phineas and Ferb?"_

_"Ferb seems to be taking it pretty hard," Perry sighed, "But Phineas is doing his best to cheer him up."_

_"Sometimes that kid can be a bit too optimistic, if you ask me," Pinky said, obviously not in a good mood. _

_Olive shot him a small glare and said in a thick , "I think its good that Phineas has that much optimism. Ferb surely needs the comfort right now after all he's been through."_

_"Olive's right," Perry said, "With all that's happened the past years, its a plain miracle the kid didn't fall into depression. If that happened, I don't know what I'd do...or anyone else, for that matter."_

_"It'll all be fine," Olive said placing a paw on Perry's shoulder, "It'll be over soon, I know it."_

_"You've said that since this whole thing began," Pinky muttered, "And we're still where we started, aren't we?"_

_"Hush, I think they're arguing," Olive said. The door beside them was obviously old, considering it being covered in rust. It was so old in fact, that the door couldn't close all the way, leaving it opened just enough for the three former agents to hear what was going on._

_"That's strange," Perry said, "No one's gone against Candace's orders before...well, besides Buford."_

_"Maybe it wasn't a command from Candace," Pinky said, "Usually a suggestion from another member would cause this kind of conflict."_

_"Good point," Perry nodded. Unfortunately, there was too much noise for anyone to know what was going on. Most likely, Candace was arguing with Buford, who would most likely be resisting her ideas, or having an idea of his own that was just too risky; either way, that seemed to be the case. Isabella managed to split up the fight as usual and put Buford in his place._

_But as the meeting came to a close, his idea was much to be thought over..._

_._

_._

_._

_"Perry will be able to communicate with us using this," Baljeet said putting a collar around Perry's neck. Usually Perry would hate to wear collars, but this was an acception. "Well?"_

_"...Uh..." Perry cleared his throat then suddenly screamed out, "HoW abOUT THIs?"_

_"Oops, forgot to adjust the sound," Baljeet nealt down again to turn a nob on his collar, "Try again, Perry."_

_"This good for ya?"_

_"Perfect, it works!" Isabella cheered._

_"Good job, Baljeet," Candace said, although too serious to smile. _

_Baljeet turned to her with a confused look on his face. "Thank you, but I still do not understand why I would need to create an animal-to-human translator in the first place."_

_"I have a favor to ask him. Don't ask. Isabella, Baljeet, back to your stations."_

_As Isabella and Baljeet left, they couldn't help but wonder what in the world she was thinking, but shrugged it off. Candace looked down to Perry and said, "Before you ask questions, I'll explain. You see, I've already known about your secret life as an OWCA agent ever since I was a little girl. Happened while I was trying to stop my brothers from building one of their contraptions. But that's not the point. What I need you to do for me is very crucial."_

_"Alright," Perry nodded in understanding._

_"I need you to take care of Phineas for me," Candace continued, "Try your best not to reveal that to him. The less he knows, the better."_

_"You mean about the Resistance," Perry asked._

_"Not to mention your former identity," Candace added._

_"But why ask this all of a sudden," Perry asked, "What are you planning?"_

_There was a long pause. Perry knew very well that Candace didn't want him to know something. She had that look on her face. That only rose his curiosity further._

_He never knew just what the teen was planning._

_._

_._

_._

_A few months later, Pinky and Peter were both captured and turned into Cyborgs; Olive had dissapeared, leaving Perry to be the only OWCA agent left._

_What Perry didn't know was that there were others. He had been too busy to realize that someone had been watching him and his owner, Phineas, the whole time..._

.

.

.

**(Perry's POV)**

I screamed. That was all I could do in a situation like this. Applejack had just thrown us off of his plane, that was as we speaking falling front first into the ground that was miles away. On one hand I thought that it made sense that he would do that, considering the fact that the engine blew and we would've died if we stayed on it. On the other hand, I thought he was being completely insane for forgetting to put parachutes onto a broken down plane that was ready to fall apart anyway.

Suddenly, the pygmy goat's front left leg grabbed me by the arm while his free hoof began working on his mechanical horn. The horn shot up, and formed three propellers, smaller than those on the plane. And yet, we began slowly hovering to the ground as apposed to falling. We landed on a large plain of cornstalk, practically tumbling to the explosion of the plane was heard by everyone. I turned to Applejack, who made his horn turn back to the way it was before. My eyes widened.

"How did you-?"

"You really think that I would make my horn mechincal without putting some extra adjustments to it," Applejack said, "Honestly, Perry, do you think I'm that crazy?"

I answered with no hesitation, "Yes."

"Now that I think about it," Applejack said, changing the subject, not even paying attention to my answer, "I think we may be lost."

"You think," I asked sarcastically as I crossed my arms.

"Perry," Applejack said, "I don't believe we're in Danville anymore...I think we might be in Nebraska."

"NEBRASKA?"

"Ain't that ironic," Applejack asked with a grin on his face.

"Ironic," I repeated angrilly, "How did we end up in Nebraska when we were supposed to go to DEI? How did we manage to fly out of the Tri-State Area? How long were we flying?"

"Ask me one more question and I'll shove this corn-cob down your throat," Applejack threatened, tearing a cob off of one of the stalks and pointing it at me as if it were a weapon.

I twitched and smacked the cob out of his hand. For the first time, Applejack seemed pretty surprised at my actions, especially when I grabbed him by the horns and hissed, "Answer me..."

I released his horns and he stared at me for a moment. He looked deep in thought...that, or he looked similar to someone who had just gotten his brain eaten by a zombie. Nevertheless, it seemed to take him a while to process what had been said.

"...Hm," he finally said, "I'm not sure...I guess I got distracted."

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. My owner was dead. So horribly dead right now, I knew it. And I have to suffer with a pygmy goat with little to no sanity.

"You look," Applejack paused as he walked over to me, "Stressed."

He said it as if the word was foriegn to him. I suddenly felt a wave of envy.

"Look," I said, sliding my hands off my face, "I don't know what it is that you planned exactly, but I _need_ to get to my owner, before something bad happens."

"Something bad already happened," Applejack stated.

"To _him_, Applejack," I growled.

"Oh," Applejack said, but I knew he already knew what I meant, "Well, why didn't you say so?"

I hate him.

"I already did," I yelled, "Stop playing games with me, pygmy goat!"

"Okay, okay," Applejack said, "I have an idea."

"What?"

"I'm gonna go find some things I'll need," Applejack said, "Meanwhile, you find the remains of my plane and try your best to gather them into one spot. Once I bring back supplies, I'll fix the plane."

"We're in the middle of a crop," I said, "The closest thing we'll find around here would be a farm or a silo. Maybe even a windmill. Where are you gonna find supplies to fix a plane?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Applejack admitted as he walked away, "I'll just have to wing it."

I hate him so much right now.

**A/N:**

**So, just like in "Ferb's Goodbye", Perry and Applejack's relationship is rather spiteful, and creates a subplot for the story. I love subplots. :3**

**Okay, let me get this across to you guys before I go on to working on the next chapter: Perry isn't a coward, or less competent than Applejack in this. He has a lot more commonsense as shown in this chapter. I just made him a bit more panicky than his original self.**

**Applejack on the other hands almost completely differs from his counterpart; while his counterpart seems more cynical towards Perry, this Applejack is more interested in actually annoying Perry. Whether it's out of spite or not...you'll have to wait.**

**Now note, just because Candace is apart of the Resistance doesn't mean that she's fine; she still is missing. I've already told you too much right now, and I refuse to go into details.**


	7. Friend or Foe?

**Welp, took a while didn't it? I've gotta start working on Ferb's Goodbye again; people seem to really like that fic. I don't know why, I myself think I could have done better. Oh well. I can't bare to disappoint any longer.**

**WARNING: This chapter may not be apropriate to any of you, and a certain swear in this is not censored.**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 6: Friend or Foe?**

_"Daddy...?"_

_The man turned angrily towards the red-headed two-year old, who peered through the doorway staring in confusion before gingerly walking into the room. The vision of the man was a blur...Phineas couldn't even remember what he looked like._

_"Daddy, the machines, what are you..."_

_Phineas may have been at a very young age, but he was also very intelligent. His father had taught him almost everything that he knew about mechanics. Building, inventing, or simply brainstorming were some of their ways of bonding. Now, however, his father had been acting very strange, with the kind of anger that seemed very alien to the young boy. At this moment Phineas had actually found him destroying each and everyone of the inventions he had created with a smack of a rusty old wrench he found in his toolbox._

_"I'm FIXING them," Phineas's father raised his voice; he never shouted at Phineas before._

_Now the young, naive child was even more confused. It seemed to him that his father was destroying the creations more than actually fixing them. "Dad, I don't know if that's-."_

_"I SAID I'M FIXING THEM YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT," his father yelled, his eyes burning with anger as he stomped over to Phineas, "DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO YOUR ELDERS!"_

_Phineas fearfully gasped as his father raised the wrench ready to smack him hard on the head. Phineas braced himself...but the blow never came. The boy hesitantly looked to see that the wrench was only a few inches from his head. The man stared at Phineas with a look of disdain before it melted into a look of shock and then to a look of pure guilt._

_The next thing Phineas knew was that his father had thrown the wrench across the room before pulling him into a tight embrace, crying. The young child shrank a little, still so confused and afraid. He felt his father shudder before he began examining him, as if he had actually hit the child. "I'm sorry Phineas, I'm just so sorry," the man sobbed, "Daddy just did a very bad thing right now and he's sorry...you haven't done a single thing wrong. Daddy's just tired right now..."_

_Phineas felt a sense of calmness as his father comforted him. The boy gave a faint smile before leaning onto his father's chest, feeling a hand rub against his back._

Phineas slowly opened his eyes. "It was only a dream..." he sadly murmured.

_Dad...I miss you..._

Checking out his surroundings as he raised his head, Phineas saw that he was in a black room, with only a table that seemed to-in a literal form of the term-light up the room. Phineas looked at the table, his eyes widenening. On the table was a bloody mess covered the table. He tried to scream for help, but out of his mouth left not even a whisper. He couldn't move...he couldn't speak.

On the table was none other than the remains of familiar looking platypus. His eyes...eye, was wide open, while the other socket had blood running down onto the metal surface. His right arm was broken, while his left arm was gone. Half his skin had been torn clean off, leaving a gorey flesh a bone unprotected.

A door slammed open. For merely a second, Phineas hoped that help had come to save him...only to be met by Doofenshmirtz, who wore a creepy grin. He says nothing as he suddenly appeared in the boy's face. It's then that Phineas realized that he was strapped to a cold, brick wall. His mouth felt like they were sewed shut. The man held a knife up to Phineas, before pulling it away, poking at its sharp tip. Phineas's heart pounded like mad.

"I must thank you, really," Doofenshmirtz said, snickering as he went, "Afterall, Perry the Platypus wouldn't have come here if it weren't for you."

Doofenshmirtz practically chuckled at that. Bastard.

Phineas tried to look away, but the image of Perry's corpse...

"I know I said that I was going to turn him into a cyborg," Doofenshmirtz glanced at the platypus, with a disgusted look on his face that was short lived, "But, I wouldn't want him regaining his free-will, now would I? Besides, I had a better idea..."

The knife impaled Phineas's chest, the dictator laughed psychoticlly as the blood poured out.

**"...Why not make a BoyBorg instead?"**

His life was over...he was dead...dead, just before he figured everything out! Why? Why did his father have to leave? Why did Doofenshmirtz have to take over his home and make everyone miserable? Why did Lawrence, Ferb, and Candace have to leave him so suddenly?

And why did he have to pretend that he was alright when he was obviously just as hurt as everyone else?

Why? Why, why, why, _WHY_?

_Kid...Kiiiiid...Kid! _

...A voice...

_Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey! Well, no, breakfast was banned months ago. What a shame..._

It sounded so alien to him...

_...Are you listening? C'mon, dumby, you can't be dead yet! Doofus would kill me if you were dead!_

Phineas chuckled a little. _Doofus..._

Wait a minute...how could he be laughing if he was dead?

Unless he was in heaven...was this heaven?

_...Then again, he'd kill me if he knew I called him Doofus behind his back..._

"Ugh..."

_Hm...OH..._Hello there. Welcome back to the land of the living."

"Ugh...huh," Phineas slowly opened his eyes groggily.

The room was a whitish grey, filled with several hospital beds, all lined up next to each other against the wall. In front of him was a shelf full of medicine, bandages, medical books, and...Mechanics for Dummies?

"Where am I," Phineas asked.

The woman beside him wore a calm smile on her face. Her hair was brown, almost like Dr. Doofenshmirtz's, maybe lighter, and straight but short. Her eyes were kiwi green, and had thin eye lashes. She wore a similar outfit as Doofenshmirtz's, only it looked feminine, almost like a dress.

"You are in my office," the woman said, "Which in actuallity isn't an office...or a chamber...or a room...wait, yes it is," she chuckled, "You're in the medical facility within DEI. I'm Dr. Alice Schnitzel. You can call me Dr. Schnitzel. Everybody does...except for _Doofus_..."

"Oh, well, my name's-."

"Phineas," Dr. Schnitzel interrupted, "Yeah, Doof told me about you already."

Phineas tried sitting up but cringed. It was then that he noticed the bandages on his leg and his waist. Dr. Schnitzel gently forced Phineas to lay back down as she said, "You were shot by the Cyborgs. The injuries they gave you were nearly fatal. Pretty stupid move you made, if you ask me."

The memory came tumbling onto Phineas, like heavy rocks that fell out of nowhere. He focused only on escaping. He shouldn't have been so tactless...but, at least he was okay, for now. Still in one **piece**...still **together**...and most importantly, not a **cyborg**...

"Nearly," Phineas asked, after a long pause.

"Well, the laser that hit you on the back chipped your spine," Dr. Schnitzel said, "It was nothing too serious. I've dealt with worse. But it still could have killed you. Not likely, but it could have. Either way, you're stupid for even trying to escape. Congrats."

The lady spoke a slight tone of arrogance mixed with sweetness to hide such negativity. Something about her made Phineas feel a pinge of wariness. Maybe it was because he knew that she worked for Doofenshmirtz, or perhaps he was acting paraniod? He couldn't tell anymore.

"Gosh, kid, you act as if you've seen a ghost," Dr. Schnitzel chuckled, "Then again, you were nearly in _that_ place. What was it like, the Gateway to Heaven? Or was it the Gateways to Hell? Of course, I highly doubt a child would see such a place as Hell. They're too pure, I think."

Phineas thought for a moment. Had he been close to the Land of the Dead? He wasn't sure. Briefly after the nightmare involving Doofenshmirtz killing him (a nightmare that he had more than one time, though this one in particular was bloodier than the others) he saw nothing but darkness for about a minute before seeing a small light, like looking at the end of a tunnel.

He slowly went towards it before being pulled back as he heard Dr. Schnitzel's voice. Yes, he almost died. But, it could have been worse, right? Phineas mentally smiled, trying to find some positive outlet.

"I wonder if stupid people are considered pure? You sure are stupid, so I'm wondering that. 'Cause, if it's true, then since you're a stupid kid, then there was no way you would have gone down there. Of course, only fools go to Hell, and fools are stupid, so, I suppose you must have a brain."

...Did she just _insult _him?

"Then again, you're still a kid. Kids are stupid. So how come their considered innocent? So many questions, so little time!"

_Will she ever shut up? _Phineas thought rubbing the bridged of his nose and sighing heavily.

"Now, tell me poor stupid child," Dr. Schnitzel said, "Curiosity compells: where'd you come from, how'd you get here, how old are you, what's your favorite color, and are you loco in the coco?"

Phineas stared. "Uh, Danville," Phineas answered, "Normbots grabbed me, otherwise I would have walked, nine, red, and...I, don't think so."

"WRONG!"

Phineas made a startled jump, which ended up hurting him even more. He hugged his stomach and groaned, turning to his side only to be grabbed by the shoulders and placed stomach side up by Schnitzel, who had more of a crazy look as opposed to a stern one. "Only locos try to escape DEI," Dr. Schnitzel claimed, "And you sir are one stupid loco!"

"Will you stop calling me stupid," Phineas yelled as he sat up to get in the woman's face, not caring wether he was in pain or not. Happy, optimistic, jolly, or none of the above, _no one_ called Phineas Flynn stupid!

"Oh," Dr. Schnitzel crossed her arms, "Then what should it be then, kid: idiot, fool, moron, mentally slow, the list goes on, really."

"Don't call me any of those," Phineas shouted, "I'm not stupid! I'm not an idiot, I'm not a fool, I'm not a moron, and I'm certainly not mentally slow! At least I had the nerve to leave this forsaken place! Heck, listen to yourself! If anyone's mentally slow it's _you_!"

Dr. Schnitzel's mouth became agape in shock. Phineas frowned, suddenly feeling very ugly. "I-I'm sorry," he said, "I don't know what came out of-."

Phineas's eyes widened, for the woman began to chuckle. Then laughed. Then giggled. Lack a madcap of some kind. She laughed so hard that she fell onto the closest desk chair and let it slide to the wall.

It took a few minutes for her to calm down, with Phineas staring with an awkward stare. Mentally slow? No. Mentally insane? Yes, yes, double yes. "I was right about you," Dr. Schnitzel said reclining, "You're one crazy kid. Still, you've got guts. I like that.

"I haven't seen anyone escape with their lives, much less someone surviving getting recaptured. There's only one person I know of who escaped here with her life that I know of."

"Her," Phineas asked, "A girl escaped?"

"Oh yes," Dr. Schnitzel said, "It happened just last year. She was older than you, in her teens I believe. She had red har just like yours, and blue eyes like yours. You know a girl like that?"

"That sounds like my sister," Phineas whispered.

"Sister, eh," Dr. Schnitzel picked at her ear, "Can't happen then. There's no possible way that there just happens to be a connection. I mean, I highly doubt Candace Flynn has a bro-."

Dr. Schnitzel felt her collar being grabbed by hands smaller than her own as she was pulled out of her chair. Phineas had gotten out of bedrest, and was staring at Schnitzel in the eyes. He wasn't glaring, his eyes were huge. "Did you say Candace Flynn," he asked.

"Yes," Dr. Schnitzel said, pulling Phineas's hands away, "Why, do you know her or something?"

Phineas continued staring. Dr. Schnitzel stared back, slowly began putting two and two together, and before long, her own eyes were wide with shock. "Candace is your sister," Dr. Schnitzel asked, trying hard not to scream, "Isn't she?"

The boy didn't answer, just began glancing around the room as he felt himself sweat a little. "Oh, don't give me that look," Dr. Schnitzel said, "Your secret's safe with me."

Not that it was a secret. Doofenshmirtz was aware of Phineas's last name, as well as Candace's. Dr. Schnitzel could only guess that the lousy dictator knew who the boy was all along.

"...Really," Phineas asked, still unsure if the woman was a friend, an enemy, or just a psycho.

"Of course," Dr. Schnitzel assured, "If Doofenshmirtz found out that you were Candace's sister...well, I don't know what he'd do, but it's a scary thought. Did you know that he killed his own brother with a shaver? A SHAVER, man, a _SHAVER_!"

There was no way Doofenshmirtz could have known. He hated Candace more than any of the Resistance members, any resident of the Tri-State Area, heck every human had it not been for Rodney. So there was no way that he knew that Phineas was related to the Resistance leader, since he's probably send the kid to his doom instantly. Then again, he needed Phineas to get Perry. Also, Doofus acted a bit different than usual; still dark, still cruel, but a bit chipper.

On a normal day, Doofenshmirtz would either be calm and collected but just as ruthless as ever, or completely enraged and merciless (not that he had any mercy in him to begin with). Lately he had been acting like a death sentence was a game. True, the man was cruel, but now he seemed twice as wicked as before, almost as if the very presence of the owner of his former nemesis triggered something of another.

"Why would he do that," Phineas asked.

"Or was that his father?"

"Are you listening?" Then it hit him. "Wait, his father?"

"Maybe it was his mother?"

"He had parents?"

Dr. Schnitzel paused for a moment.

"(Didn't his parents give him "the talk"?) Oh, now I remember! He killed his dog with a shaver, and then he killed his brother with a Japanese envelope opener."

"Again, why would he do that?" Dr. Schnitzel sighed. "I would think that the answer was obvious: He's a wackjob. A loon. Insane, deluted, crazy, mentally deranged-."

"What are you, a dictionary?"

"Ever since every book except the dictionary was banned, I had nothing else to read," Schnitzel shrugged.

Phineas looked at the shelf of books before eyeing Dr. Schnitzel who gave a sheepish grin. "Okay, maybe I broke the rules," there was a pause, "A few hundred times."

Phineas smirked.

"I'M A BOOKWORM, OKAY," Schnitzel said, spreading out his arms, "So I stole some books from the furnace? What Doofus don't know won't hurt him."

Phineas laughed lightly. "Your secret's safe with me."

_Okay, I'm in a room with a disturbingly deranged woman...but, at least she's not Doofenshmirtz._

"You're alright, kid," Dr. Schnitzel said with a smile, "You're not telling him anything?"

"Not even the Doofus thing," Phineas promised, "Besides, I would imagine that everyone else is calling him the same thing."

"Yeah, you're right," Dr. Schnitzel said, "In fact, your sister calls him that. That's where I got the name."

"I wouldn't doubt it," Phineas said, "My sister hates Doofenshmirtz's guts."

"That's what _he _said," Dr. Schnitzel laughed.

"Candace is a girl," Phineas said.

Schnitzel sighed. "You don't get the joke," she said in a matter of fact tone, "Whatever. Anyway, I should probably mention that Doofus is going to have another...talk, with you."

_"Why not make a boyborg instead?"_

Phineas shuddered. Then began wondering whether the dream meant something or not. Now that was a scary thought. Dr. Schnitzel went on, "I don't know what to tell you. Doofenshmirtz has been acting rather strange ever since you were captured.

"Maybe it's because of the fact that you're Agent P's owner, I don't know. But rest assured, he isn't going to do anything to you," she sighed sadly, almost as if she had remembered something very fond to her, "at least, not yet."

That didn't exactly help Phineas, but it was the thought that counted to say the least. A stream of pain hit Phineas's back again and he cringed, nearly falling to the ground. Dr. Schnitzel grabbed the boy and placed him back onto the hospital bed, saying, "You need to rest just a little longer. It's late, anyway. I should probably head off to bed.

"Word of advice, don't try to escape this time. At least wait until things get a bit more serious than things are now. Then try to do the impossible, for all I care."

"Carpe Diem."

"...Come again?"

"Carpe Diem. It's Latin for "sieze the day"."

"What does that have to do with-?"

"Whether the situation seems impossible right now, I refuse to give up. I don't care how long it takes, I'm going to get out of DEI. And then I'm going to find my sister, _and_ my father. And when I do, I'll make Doofenshmirtz pay for what he's done."

"..." Dr. Schnitzel shook her head, "You're something else kid. Whether that's good news or bad, I'm not really sure. I guess I'll wait and see."

Schnitzel went to the door, taking one more look at Phineas. "I repeat," she said, "Don't you dare try to escape, especially in your condition. If you do, I may not be able to save you when it happens."

After that, she left. Phineas lied on his back, staring up into the ceiling. For a while, he began thinking if he could find his sister, much less his father. He thought about this for a while before falling back asleep while softly wishing that his father never left him. Then wishing that he never left home. Then wishing that everyone and everything would be back to normal. Back to the time where things weren't so grim.

It was practically a lost cause, but not to Phineas...never to Phineas.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"There's something to admire about that kid," Dr. Schnitzel thought to herself.

She'd never seen a kid like Phineas. Usually the prisoners at DEI would simply give up and die, or try to escape only to be killed minutes after they left their cells. She'd assume that if they had the chance to live that they'd act like those who lost sight of hope. Phineas actually proved her wrong. Maybe the rest would have pushed on, if a child could anyway.

Oh well, she got what she wanted. She should probably get the information to Doofenshmirtz. She smirked. Kids were stupid.

But so were some adults.

**A/N:**

**So, is Dr. Schnitzel really on the good side or the bad side? Better yet, which side is the good side and the bad side? She seems to know something we don't. ;)**

**As you can see, she's been just as effected by Doofenshmirtz's reign as anyone else. However, at the same time she may be as self-centered as Heinz's portrayal. Or is simply holding onto something that is just too important to give up. It could be anything really. And yes, she's crazy, but not as insane as Applejack. If anything she's afraid of that kind of stuff. In this dimension. The Dr. Schnitzel of Ferb's Goodbye, I'm still working on.**

**Anyways, I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. Don't worry, I'm not that much in writer's block, it's just that I've been doing a couple of projects lately. I've been writing songs for a friend, helping another friend (who has a DA page; check out my profile for the link) with a sort of movie called 21 Days. I helped with some of the script, and I'm also helping with some of the voices. It'll be very fun, very fun indeed. :3**

**There are also the fact that I;ve been writing more fan fics than I thought I would; I even helped co-write a story (Gravity Falls The Movie fanfic: Across the Second Dimension by exoshon13; read it, man, it's epic!). Of course I only wrote two chapters, but I was also working on other stories. I'm really behind on my IZ and MLP stories. But I seem to be more obssessed with PnF. I think I might a Christmas Carol Phineas and Ferb style...**

**Also, school and church stuff; those things are way more important than fan fics, and whoever tells me otherwise should be boiled in his own pudding!**

**Again, I hope you enjoyed; have a Merry Christmas, everyone! Feliz navada! XD**


	8. For the Love of Heinz

**This has been a while, hasn't it? Then again, it's always been a while. I hope you all enjoy this. :3**

**Just so you know, I'm not gonna try to show Perry or Applejack for a while. This story isn't a plot A or B, it's main plot and subplot. So, no matter how tempted I am at writing their chapter, I can't. You'll see them again in about three to five chapters from now, I think.**

**This chapter's more about Dr. Schnitzel and her relationship with Heinz. The next chapter, however, along with others, involve mostly Dr. D and Phineas.**

**Anyways, enjoy. :D**

**P/F/P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 7: For the Love of Heinz**

Dr. Alice Schnitzel was different from Doofenshmirtz's other loyal servants. It wasn't that she was more obediant to him than the others, even if that was true. Alice was very unpredictive, and the man could rarely tell whether she lied to him or not. The two had met in Gimmelshtump, which is why she managed to understand some of his ways. Both of their families both moved to America during a war hit their home, and it only seemed to affect Alice, not Heinz.

While they were children, Alice was Heinz's best..._only_ friend. She stood by his side through thick and thin, no matter how strange and odd he seemed from time to time. And in returned, he'd be there for her as well. That's why she liked him.

That's why she...**loved**...him.

The feelings, of course, weren't returned. Eventually, Heinz Doofenshmirtz got married to a woman named Charlene. Alice's heart ached too much to go to the wedding, or at least be seen by anyone there. She had watched the whole thing through the window and then ran off afterwards. The reason was that she thought that Heinz had spotted her.

When Heinz divorced, she was filled with glee. She thought that there was a chance for herself and her bestfriend, but he fell in love again. With someone else, _again_. She wasn't sure with whom or what happened between Heinz and his new lover, since she left for Gimmelshtump, unable to take the heartbreak any longer.

That man was just too oblivious. SHE _HATED_ HIM!

She stayed at Gimmelshtump for a while...then came back...then she met up with Heinz again...then noticed that he had changed...then witnessed him kill the mayor of Danville...then helped bury the body while promising not to tell a soul...then agreed to help Heinz take over the Tri-State Area...then, when it was all over, began to contemplate all that had happened.

Had she done all of this because she still loved Doofenshmirtz? Had she been willingly to throw away her sanity, her commonsense, for someone who kept pushing her aside? Like she was nothing? Or did she do this so she could find a way to get her friend back?

...Yes. Yes that was the reason.

But had she stayed a little longer, could she have prevented all of this?

She hated the new Doofenshmirtz, loathed him entirely even. She dealt with him every single day for the past six to seven years, forced to do his bidding. Why? Her love for him turned into fear. She realized that she cared more about her life than the love she had for Heinz.

So why did it hurt? And why wouldn't it stop hurting?

**.**

**.**

**.**

Doofenshmirtz's office was filled with noise created by one person, and one alone. Doofenshmirtz sat at his desk, looking bored, while Schnitzel paced around the room telling the information she had gained.

"...and he's even the younger brother of Candace," Schnitzel blabbed, "Did you know anything about this?"

Doofenshmirtz gave an unimpressed look. Just as she thought otherwise: he already knew. "Then _why_ is he still alive," Schnitzel asked.

It wasn't that she didn't care about the kid (okay, maybe that was a bit of the case), but it took way too long for her to digest what the dictator was really planning. She was smart, but was also ditzy, and slow-witted if that made sense. Her beliefs were illogical. Her personality, varied from serious to childish on a whim, almost as if she had split personalities.

"He's still Perry's owner," Doofenshmirtz explained as if he had told Schnitzel this several times, "If he dies now, Perry won't touch DEI with a thirty nine and a half mile pole."

"Don't you mean thirty nine and a half **foot** pole?"

"Miles seem more realistic in this case," Doofenshmirtz said, "Furthermore, I highly doubt Perry the Platypus would even come near the premesis if the kid wasn't in tact. After I deal with my former adversary, I'll decide what to do with the boy. And trust me it won't be pretty."

"Yeah, yeah," Schnitzel waved her hand boredly.

Schnitzel had told Doofenshmirtz everything that she remembered being told. Only because she knew by now that Doofenshmirtz probably knew those things already, which he somehow did. She felt a little bad, but she told herself she'd get over it quickly. Children didn't mean too much to her, if at all.

"Say," Schnitzel said, "If you don't mind me asking..."

"Depends on what you're about to ask," Doofenshmirtz interrupted.

"Well, sir, it's about Ca-...her," Schnitzel knew better than to mention _her_ name after what happened to the Robot Factory recently. "It's been several months since she escaped prison. Why didn't you kill her when you had the chance?"

"...Simple," Doofenshmirtz smirked, giving Schnitzel a brief sense of panic as if the look could kill her if she stared too deeply into his eyes, "She proved herself."

"...Pardon?"

"That's all I'm going to say," Doofenshmirtz shrugged, "You're a doctor, aren't you? You figure out the rest."

Schnitzel blinked.

Doofenshmirtz captured several people, including members of the Resistance, and none but Candace escaped. Schnitzel was sure that he would have sent Candace to her doom right when she was caught...then again, none of the Resistance that were captured were sent to be fed to the Goozim like the other prisoners. They all tried to escape, except a spy who was gullible enough to trust Doofenshmirtz-she believed his name was Albert, but she couldn't remember-and all of them ended up getting killed. She knew this because it was one of her jobs to scoop up any dead bodies of those who tried to escape DEI, and then throw them into an incinerator that was in the basement. That, or give them to Goozim, who'd eat the bodies like a dog eats his treats.

Originally Schnitzel had thought that Doofenshmirtz enjoyed a game of cat and mouse when it came to the Resistance, but now...what did he mean by Candace proving her worth? It sounded like he was giving her a test, or something. Maybe he just said that so Schnitzel could think about something else other than talking to him about someone he despised. He did that once when she mentioned his brother Roger, but that ended up like this:

_"If you ever mention his name again, I will cut you! I will cut you open and feed your inards to the Goozim!"_

She decided not to mention the name of Doofenshmirtz's brother any longer. She didn't like Roger anyway; he whined too much, like he was a 4-year-old in a 30-year-old man's body. It got annoying after a while. When she returned from Gimmelshtump, Doofenshmirtz told her what he had done. It had surprised her...and yet...

Maybe everyone was right. Maybe she was like Doofenshmirtz in a way. Maybe she snapped a long time ago, even before Doofenshmirtz did. Maybe she was even worse.

_"NO! I'M NOTHING LIKE THAT __**MONSTER**__!"_

And yet when she screamed that to the prisoner who told her this as she allowed the Norm-Bots to send him to his doom, she felt like she was lying through her teeth. After all, she laughed at the prisoner's misery afterwards. Like a hypocrite. And she felt no remorse whatsoever, even now.

"By the way," Doofenshmirtz said, "How is our prisoner doing?"

"He's asleep, I guess," Schnitzel shrugged, "I highly doubt he'll try to escape again. What with his weapon dismantled."

Schnitzel reached into her pocket and then dropped the pieces of Phineas's laser. She had picked it up when she fowned Phineas about to die. It was worth nothing now.

"Since when do kids carry around lasers?" Schnitzel could have sworn that Doofenshmirtz sounded a bit shocked.

"How should I know," Schnitzel asked, "I'm a freakin' doctor and Cyborg mechanic for heaven's sake, not a children's expert. Anyways, I did what you asked. The kid didn't say anything useful. Just mentioned something about..."

Schnitzel nearly facepalmed. "Oh, right," she said, "There's one thing I forgot to mention. The person he was looking for was his father."

"Hm...?"

"I didn't ask anything about who he was," Schnitzel went on, "But the kid seemed pretty determined to find him. It's as if his very confidence is in his father's well-being."

Schnitzel waited for an answer from the dictator, but found him deep in thought. "Heinz? Are you alright?"

"...I'm fine," Doofenshmirtz said, "Go. And when the kid wakes up send him here."

Schnitzel mockingly saluted Doofenshmirtz with a quick "L" sign and poking out her tongue before leaving the office.

As she left, she suddenly felt a bit of concern when she saw that Doofenshmirtz didn't react at all.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Phineas didn't try to escape this time. He was too tired, and besides, what Schnitzel said was right. He had to wait longer to escape DEI. Even though he was tired, he couldn't sleep. Thoughts of his family went through his head.

Where were Candace, Perry, and his father now? How was Ferb doing in England, which was paradise compared to where Phineas was. Now that he thought about it, how was his mother doing since he left. He hadn't thought much about her, considering all that she had done to him.

He didn't hate her, though, since he knew she was hurt by what was happening. But, why take it out on him?

Phineas yawned. His eyes didn't feel any heavier than they did before. He glanced through the room, having thoughts about hidden cameras somewhere. Then, he took a piece of paper out of his pocket. He smiled. It was still in one peace, after all this time.

He unfolded the paper, carefully.

_"Dear Phineas..."_

**A/N:**

**LOL, did you guys think I forgot about the letter? No way! It's Phineas's only leads of his father. Why forget about something crucial like that?**

**Speaking of the letter, originally I had planned to write what the letter said in the prologue. It was actually accidental that I posted the chapter without the written letter, but then had a better idea than to rewrite the whole thing. Especially since some of you are wondering what in the world such a letter would say to give Phineas such hope...I ain't telling you anything yet! XD**

**This is pretty much the only time Schnitzel will have a chapter about her. She's crucial to the story, but she's basically minor compared to the other characters. However, like Applejack, she knows some things that are important.**

**Anyways, I hope you enjoyed. HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYBODY! :D**


	9. Striking a Deal

**Alright, here is the next chapter. I really like this story...a lot...it's, like, the best thing I've written so far in my life besides the short story I write for my writing class. I may post it on FictionPress after I finish it.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy! :3 (And by the way, thank iheartphinabella05 for this update. Girl, you are awesome! ;3)**

**I own nothing but Dr. Schnitzel, Applejack, and the story. Everything else belongs to Dan Povenmire and Jeff "Swampy" Marsh. If I did own the show and characters, there would be a few...changes, to the series. :3**

**P/F/P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 8: Striking a Deal**

Doofenshmirtz didn't bother to react when Schnitzel mocked him before leaving the office. He was deep in thought, deeper in it than usual. It was strange why that last piece of information bothered him so much. Perhaps bother wasn't the correct way to put it, but it made him curious in a weird way. Like it was something he should have known, yet forgot a long time ago.

He had made an assumption that Phineas was looking for Candace, and even thought that Phineas may have been working for the Resistance at one point. The group of teens and children seemed to have vanished a while back, after an incident at the Robot Factory that wouldn't be fixed until several months later. So when Phineas had suddenly appeared, having the guts to roam around the robot filled city, he thought only a member of such an organization besides the OWCA would do that. Of course, to his surprise, he was wrong.

Doofenshmirtz pondered about all of this for a while before shrugging it off. He had other matters to work out at the moment. The question of where the Resistance were was pushed aside for another matter: where was Perry the Platypus, and why hadn't he come for Phineas yet?

The graveyard that the Norm-Bots found Phineas and Perry in was hours away from DEI unless by vehicle, flying or not. If he could recall, one of the Norm-Bots saw a plane there. It was broken down, but it could still fly, at least to DEI. Doofenshmirtz had expected Perry to crash that said plane through a wall or something, completely unaware that there was also a shack there, where a pygmy goat with a mechanical horn lived.

And he was even less aware of the fact that Perry was with that said goat in a different state, far from Danville. Least of all was he aware of Perry the Platypus actually being tortured more with the goat than he would be at DEI as a Cyborg, otherwise he'd shrug off the matter entirely and move onto his other plans.

Doofenshmirtz loathed Perry more than even Candace, who had been a thorn in his side for a while. He hadn't seen the secret agent platypus since the Resistance was formed, now that he thought about it. Why it made him feel so...empty, was beyond him. It was only when the Norm-Bots mentioned Perry and his owner that Doofenshmirtz realized his nemesis was still in the Tri-State Area (again, oblivious to the fact that Perry wasn't even in the particular Tri-State Area).

True, he was a bit angry that they didn't capture Perry, but that was only a small setback. If none of you caught on yet, he knew quite a lot about the citizens of the Tri-State Area. He had been aware of two step-brothers with a particular knack of building pretty much anything. One of them had left for England last year, but the other was still around. In fact, the younger brother was trapped in DEI.

Maybe he couldn't get to Perry with Phineas, at least not right away. But, perhaps, though it was a slight change in his original plan, he could use the boy in other ways as well. Doofenshmirtz grinned. A little lying never hurt anyone...except everyone but himself.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Phineas yawned as he woke up, still on the bed Schnitzel had placed him on. He still felt sore, but not as much as before. He didn't get any nightmares this time, like he usually did, but he considered that a good thing. He looked to see the letter, still in his hand, lying beside him.

...Did the words he read scare the nightmares away? He hadn't read it in a while...so strange...

The door to the infirmery slammed open, so hard it nearly tore down to the ground. Phineas quickly stashed the note into his pocket before he turned to see none other than... the Cyborg who shot him. The semi mechanical dog, who was wearing a strange looking collar, glared at the boy darkly, a frightening essence enveloping the room. It was disturbing, for a creature so small, to have such an aura.

"YOU mUst bE PhInEAs," the Cyborg spoke both high and low all at once, making him sound like robotic demon of some kind who had no control of his voice's volume, "DOOfEnshmIrtz hAs cAllEd yOU tO hIs prEsEncE."

Phineas felt his ears ring, feeling like his head was going to explode. Doofenwho? What?

"ArE yOU lIstEnIng," the chihuahua growled, "GEt Up bEfOrE wE _BOTH_ gEt In trOUble! DOOfEnshmIrtz Is ExpEctIng YOU!"

Expecting...oh...now he remembered. He was still in DEI. That wasn't a nightmare. It was real.

And now he had to have another "meeting" with Doofenshmirtz. His week could have gone a little better. It could be worse, though. He could be sent to the Goozim, or...turned into a...

Phineas shook his head before getting out of bed, not saying a word as he did. The boy cringed, but not as much as last night. What time was it, anyway?

"FOllOw mE," the Cyborg commanded, "And dOn't trY AnY fUnny stUff."

Phineas nodded. The Cyborg then began leading the young boy out of the hospital room and down to the seemingly endless halls that lead to Doofenshmirtz's office. Phineas wanted to ask how the Cyborg could talk, but it spoke before he could. "I Am PInkY," he barked, "REmEmbEr It, scUm."

How could anyone forget such a ridiculous name? Phineas tried hard not to laugh, but unfortunately let out a small chuckle that the Cyborg-Pinky-noticed instantly. Pinky stopped, as well as Phineas when he noticed the dog halt. The Cyborg turned to the boy, aiming a hand-gun at him. Phineas gasped.

"It Is nOt wIsE tO mOck thE OnE whO nEArlY tOOk YOUr lIfE," Pinky said, "YOU ArE lUckY thAt OUr mAstEr Is sEEkIng fOr YOU, OthErwIsE wE wOUld kIll YOU whErE YOU stAnd."

Pinky turned away, shutting off his weapon, and walked forward, Phineas hesitantly following. "WE ArE sUrprIsEd thAt YOU sUrvIved lAst tImE," Pinky said, "NO hUmAn hAs sUrvIvEd Us bEfOrE. HOwEvEr, thAt Is OnlY bEcAUsE YOU wErE sAvEd bY SchnItzEl. NExt tImE YOU trY tO EscApE, YOU wIll nOt bE sO lUckY."

"Y-yeah," Phineas mumbled, "I'll remember that..."

Phineas looked about to see several robots working or rushing through the halls in straight lines. The Cyborgs were nowhere to be found. They were probably outside, patroling. Phineas could only guess that the Cyborgs only function was to punish those who broke the rules Doofenshmirtz made. Yet, for some reason, Phineas could have sworn that Pinky looked a little sullen.

Phineas suddenly felt bad for Pinky. Cyborgs weren't always Cyborgs, were they? Phineas had no idea who the Cyborg really was, but he did know that Pinky used to be a normal dog, with a family no doubt, and those two factors were stripped away from him when he was turned into a mechanical monster. Even if the dog tried to kill him...not even he deserved this life.

"Why does Doofenshmirtz want to see me," Phineas asked.

"YOU trIEd tO EscApE An hOUr AftEr YOU wErE ImprIsOnEd," Pinky stated, "ThAt hAs nEvEr hAppEnEd. I AssUmE thAt Is thE rEAsOn."

"You assume," Phineas said.

"OUr mAstEr Is nOt OnE tO ExplAIn dEtAIls," Pinky explained, "HE lIkEs tO kEEp A lOt Of thIngs tO hImsElf. WE dO nOt knOw whY thAt Is, bUt wE dO nOt cArE tO Ask."

Phineas had a feeling that what the chihuahua said was a lie. He had a feeling that Pinky was just as, if not even more afraid, of Doofenshmirtz as anyone else. "WE ArE hErE," Pinky said, stopping in front of a purple double-door that had two green Ds on it.

Pinky turned to Phineas as he placed his paw on the knob of one of the two doors and said, "WE AssUmE thAt YOU knOw thAt DOOfEshmIrtz wIll rEfUsE tO AnswEr qUEstIOns?"

Phineas nodded again. There was no way in heck that he was going to forget something like that after the last interrogation. He shuddered just thinking about it. Staring at Doofenshmirtz was like staring into the firey pits of Hades, in Phineas's opinion. He didn't doubt that everyone else thought the same.

"GOOd," Pinky said opening the door, "TrY nOt tO AngEr hIm...If YOU knOw whAt Is gOOd fOr YOU."

Phineas gulped before walking into the room, followed by Pinky, who left his hand gun on just in case the red-head had any ideas. Doofenshmirtz was at his desk, wearing a calm smirk on his face. Phineas tried to keep a brave face, but as the smirk darkened ever so slightly, and Phineas realized that there was no fooling the man.

"You may go, Cyborg," Doofenshmirtz said.

Pinky said not a word, but tilting his back as if he were giving a small bow before leaving, glancing at Phineas before shutting the door. Phineas looked at Doofenshmirtz, sweating a bit, hoping that the dictator wouldn't notice the obvious signs of fear that he was showing. "Sit," Doofenshmirtz commanded.

Phineas obeyed, sitting on a chair in front of the man's desk. Strangely enough, the interrogation room seemed more depressing than the office. He expected the place to be a little more intimidating, but you couldn't go too far when the room was colored green and _purple_. "That was quite impressive," Doofenshmirtz said, "For you to attempt to escape so quickly after you were put in a cell. Not even a Resistance member has done that.

"And what's more, you actually managed to survive. That was quite a surprise. Even if Schnitzel helped you, the Cyborgs never fail to kill any living thing even with medical attention. But, enough about that for now. We have other pressing matters."

Phineas blinked, nearly asking what Doofenshmirtz meant, but his lip to stop himself. Doofenshmirtz stood up from his seat, slowly walking back and forth. "Before I took over the Tri-State Area," he began, "I did some research on a couple residents. Not just anyone, mind you, but people I found important to my plans. Yes, that included Perry the Platypus, your pet.

"That also included several others of high authority. After I took them out of the picture, all I had to do was take down the armies working under them and the Tri-State Area would be putty in my hands. After that, the Resistance came to being, and I had to do more research on several people in Danville, as well as other cities, to seek out the members..."

Phineas eyed the man, curiosly. Where was he getting at?

"...Including, you and your brother," Doofenshmirtz said.

Phineas's eyes widened. "H-how did you," the boy trailed off.

"Like I said," Doofenshmirtz stopped to look at the young boy, "I did my research. You and your _step_-brother, Fred, or whatever-."

"His name is _Ferb_," Phineas said, glaring as if he wasn't talking to someone who could kill him with a snap of fingers.

Doofenshmirtz stared at Phineas for a moment before continuing, almost surprising the boy for not reacting the way he thought he would. "The names don't matter," Doofenshmirtz said, "What does matter is that although you didn't work for the Resistance, you and your brother were shown to be skilled in machinery and such. In fact, I bet it was _you_ who drew those blueprints on the walls of some buildings."

Phineas blushed embarrasedly. It was sad, but, true.

"I remember a Norm-Bot mentioning to me about that," Doofenshmirtz went half talking to himself, "You seem to have quite an obsession, eh, Phineas?"

"Sh-shut up," Phineas stuttered.

"Called it," Doofenshmirtz snickered, "Moving on, I noticed that out web-footed friend has vanished completely after you were taken here. I don't know what happened, but knowing him he's probably way too smart to simply go to DEI without a plan or back-up.

"So I came up with another idea," Doofenshmirtz said walked behind Phineas, and grabbed the chair he was sitting on, "How about making a deal?"

"...Huh," Phineas cocked his head a bit questioningly.

"You know that Alice is in charge of mechanical and medical work," Doofenshmirtz said, "However, she also has other jobs to work on. It easily stresses her, and she's not as good at other things when she's like that. You being a mechanical genius yourself, you could fix machines, robots, anything mechnical.

"My propersition for you is that I keep that platypus alive, along with the remains of those who mean so much to you, if, and only if, you work for me in exchange."

Phineas looked up at the man, horrified. He shook his head. No. That'd be like betraying his home, his family, even if it was to protect them.

"If you don't," Doofenshmirtz said with malice in his voice, "I'll make sure that Perry the Platypus is a Platyborg instead...and as for everyone else you care so much about..."

Phineas glared, suddenly not caring whether or not he was talking to a dictator or not. "NO!" he yelled, "Never! I know Perry was your nemesis, you said so yourself! He beat you before, and he won't let you get away with this for long!"

Doofenshmirtz glared, turned the chair, and forced the boy to look into his eyes. Phineas kept glaring, rage replacing the fear he had before. After a while, Doofenshmirtz's glare faded, and Phineas nearly felt himself smirk.

"Your father..."

Phineas's expression turned back to a look of fear instantly. "...What did you say...?"

"You're looking for him aren't you," Doofenshmirtz said, completely emotionless.

"H-how," Phineas didn't finish, seeing Doofenshmirtz regain his smirk that the boy found both frightening and annoying.

"Alice told me," Doofenshmirtz answered, "That's the whole reason why you wandered out of your home. To look for someone who had left you so long ago, hoping that he's still around."

Phineas turned his head away, or at least tried to, as Doofenshmirtz grabbed him by the head and lifted him off the chair. "I don't think you understand your current situation even now," Doofenshmirtz said, "If you don't help me, I won't just be getting rid of Perry the Platypus...I'll find your father myself...and then what'll happen?

"He'll be dead because of you, Phineas. And I'll keep you alive, in a cell, just so you can feel eternal torture."

Doofenshmirtz dropped Phineas, back onto the chair. The boy stared at the man, all hope that was once in the red-head's eyes nearly faded away. "Either you help me," Doofenshmirtz said, "Or live in complete misery as I kill the remains of your family. Your choice."

Doofenshmirtz extended a hand to Phineas, whose vision focused onto the gloved palm. Phineas fiddled his thumbs for a moment. "Do we have a deal, Flynn," Doofenshmirtz grinned.

_What should I do?_

On one hand, Phineas would be betraying everything he beleived in. He'd destroy what was left of the status quo that everyone thought was still exsistant. He'd be known as a traitor; a coward. He didn't want that.

...On the other hand, he'd lose everyone he held dearly to him. Doofenshmirtz would make sure of that. His mother, sister, brother, Perry...his father...all dead because of him.

He was caught in a lose-lose situation. Either way, this was like a game that Doofenshmirtz already won a long time ago. In fact, Phineas wasn't even a player. He had no choice...

Phineas grabbed the open palm and shook it. "Deal."

**A/N:**

**Oh, dear, Phineas...I feel so bad for him now! And I'm the one who wrote this! ):**

**And yet, there's some humor to this: we all know Doofenshmirtz is Phineas's father already. Doofenshmirtz threatened to kill Phineas's father, who is himself...if he realized from the beginning that he was Phineas's dad, he'd realize that he was practically talking suicide. XD**

**Sorry if you can't read what Pinky said very well. That's how the text is supposed to be when the Cyborgs talk, but that's only temporary.**

**I wrote all of this till, like, 2:50 AM. By the time I finish this AN, I'll be asleep. This won't even be posted until the morning, maybe on Friday...Anyways, hope you all liked the chapter, and...*snores***

**Danni:...Huh. She fell asleep.**

**Applejack: Why am I not surprised...**


	10. A New Life, A Future Disaster

**Chapter nine! YESH! XD**

**Three chapters in one month! Two in one week! I'm on a role! XD**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy...and I hope that I don't do an all nighter like **_**last**_** time. *sweats a little***

**I OWN NOTHING BUT APPLEJACK, AND DR. SCHNITZEL!**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 9: A New Life, A Future Disaster**

Phineas had obviously made the biggest mistake of his life. His new role in what used to be his hometown was to serve Doofenshmirtz as an extra mechanic for when Schnitzel couldn't preform her duties. Not that the woman couldn't complain, as it was true that she was easily stressed. Perhaps now she didn't have to deal with Doofenshmirtz's constant interruptions 24-7.

It had been weeks since the deal had been made. Phineas usually repaired Norm-Bots, while Schnitzel repaired the Cyborgs. Schnitzel was actually the one to decide this, saying the the process of repairing a Cyborg was too complicated for a, and I quote, "stupid kid". Afterwards, she had to find a way to explain the black eye that she so suddenly got to anyone who asked. She eventually got her revenge after sabotaging one of the Norm-Bots that Phineas had fixed, which ended with the Norm-Bot nearly destroying _everything_ it saw, and landed Phineas _and_ Schnitzel in a giant a freezer for a few hours, about three tops.

The freezer wasn't like a refrigerator at all, instead was a room constructed out of metal. There were several ACs that were constantly on, the lights were dim and usually went out, and it was completely empty. Not to mention that it was prone to leaking from the ceiling, which was covered in icicles. The point of the room was that if someone who worked for Doofenshmirtz, say a slave, ever disobeyed his orders, or did anything stupid, he'd find other ways of punishing them other than a death sentence. The freezer, which everyone called the "Ice Box", was one of those ways.

And it was merely one of the least horrible ways of punishment. The others were far worse! For example, another punishment was feeding the _Goozim_ without a ways of protection. Usually Schnitzel would feed him with a corpse of a dead prisoner, but the Goozim wasn't tame. Trying to control that kind of beast would be like throwing your life away. So anyone who knew this very well would simply get to the platform, drop the food for the Goozim on the floor, then get out of there as fast as they could. No one else knew this like Schnitzel or Doofenshmirtz did, though, and many (who were most likely brain-dead) actually _mocked_ the giant square of fur, not thinking that the Norm-Bots there would actually let it out of it's cage to eat. They lost so many slaves that way...

Phineas wasn't the only human to work under Doofenshmirtz. Besides himself and Schnitzel, there was several others, but he never actually got to know them. No one made contact with anyone unless they were-albiet, bitterly-working together on a job or were fighting. Clearly they had no sense of team-work, as Phineas just _knew_ that if they got over their differences, they could easily overpower Doofenshmirtz together. But, after brushing it off, he completely forgot about the idea.

Like the other slaves, Phineas was completely oblivious about Doofenshmirtz's odd change in attitude. Of course, you'd have to know Doofenshmirtz really well in order to tell. He was a really great actor, especially when it came to lying. But none of those who actually managed to see through the mental mask could never figure out why the change had occurred.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_...151..._

_...152..._

_...153..._

_...154..._

Phineas wiped the sweat from his forehead as he worked on another Norm-Bot. Not fixing one, making one. With the Robot Factory still out of shape, the Norm-Bots that couldn't be fixed had to be replaced another way. Doofenshmirtz had actually recently come up with the idea, and forced Phineas to go through with it. The boy was assigned to build around 1,000 robots by the end of the day.

It had been three hours now...

_...166..._

_...167..._

It was a good thing he could build things quickly. The job would have been done a lot faster if Ferb was there with him. Phineas admitted that he'd rather have his older brother be safe rather than being with him to suffer what what he was suffering, but there was still part of him that wished the opposite. It was pretty much envy, mixed with missing Ferb with all his heart.

Every single day, Phineas had hoped to see his pet platypus (having partially, if not finally, excepted the fact that he was indeed a secret agent) show up at any moment to help him get out of the horrible place. Then, he began wondering if Perry was still alive, but quickly thought otherwise. After all, he was clearly capable of handling himself, even though he was knocked out by one of the Norm-Bots...it came from behind! If things happened differently, they both would be home free, Phineas bet. So, there was no blame for the platypus, that was for certain.

But where could Perry be now?

And Candace...it had only been weeks ago since he found out her secret. She was a Resistance member. And the only reason why she was gone...he didn't know why. All he knew was that the group had disappeared, vanished, for several months now.

Maybe they were in hiding? But, Phineas had looked almost everywhere for his father...wouldn't he have come across them by now?

_...234..._

_...235..._

_...236..._

Five hours...this was going to be a long day...

**.**

**.**

**.**

Meanwhile, another prisoner, one that no one working at DEI had seen before, was dragged through the hallways by two Norm-Bots. It was just a middle-aged man, who's hair was greying a tad bit, wearing what everyone else was wearing: Dooferalls his own size. The glasses he once wore were crushed, and left in the middle of the street when he was captured. He had done nothing wrong, and had been trying to get to work, when he was suddenly taken to the strange purple building.

The man wasn't taken to a cell, nor the office, or even the interrogation room. He was taken to a room that was white, like an asylum cell, only there was a giant screen on on of the walls. The man was sitting on a chair that was facing the large screen that was, at the moment, completely black. On the corners of the ceiling were cameras, all pointed to him.

**.**

**.**

**.**

It was a pitch black room, being lit up by several boxs on the walls. Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel both were staring at one of them, one grinning an evil grin, the other staring in pure confusion.

"What exactly are we doing," Schnitzel asked, looking to the screen that showed the man sitting on the chair as well as two Norm-Bots hovering behind him.

The screen was attached to several other screens that showed several rooms in the building, and was also attached to a large machine with several buttons that kept flickering randomly. A part of the machine, a lever, had only been recently added to the machine. Doofenshmirtz smirked. "Just watch," he said, placing his hand on the lever, and pulling it.

**.**

**.**

**.**

The screen went from black to a swirl of inverted colors in a matter of seconds. The man stared, his eyes shrinking in shock. Minutes passed before the man leaped out of the chair and began running around in circle, making sounds like engines, and crashed into the walls several times. He even began pounding his fists at the Norm-Bot, breaking his hands, but laughed as if nothing had inflicted him.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Schnitzel stared, jaw-dropped. The screen showed a man, jumping out of his chair, rolling on the floor, and making an absolute fool of himself. "What did you _do_ to him?"

"He's fine," Doofenshmirtz said, "For the most part, anyway. I made the screen specifically to scramble the human mind. In other words, he's completely insane."

"Will he get better?," Schnitzel asked.

"I don't know," Doofenshmirtz said, "And I don't care, either. If this doesn't bring The Resistance out of hiding, nothing will."

"You're not actually expecting them to come out of hiding because you drove one person crazy, are you

Doofenshmirtz paused and turned to the woman, who's heart nearly stopped at his stare. It wasn't a glare, nor an evil smirk...it was simply a stare, that was devoid of any emotion. She had never seen this reaction before. And, stranger still, this was probably worse than the other glares and nasty looks he gave.

"I'm not," Doofenshmirtz said, "But what about the rest of Danville..."

Schnitzel eyed the man, trying to process...wait a minute...

"...Or the rest of the Tri-State Area..."

Schnitzel's eyes shrunk...he wasn't seriously...

"...Or even the rest of the country...?"

...Oh my gosh...

"You're going to drive them _all_ insane," Schnitzel asked.

"Well, perhaps not the entire country," Doofenshmirtz turned away, "_Yet. _But the Tri-State Area? Definately."

"But...that would involve making more of those screens," Schnitzel looked back to the man, who was proceeding to chew on the walls...or at least try to, "How...how did you get the time to make these?"

Schnitzel saw Doofenshmirtz every single day, and she never saw any implications of the project even being made. To think she would have found out just a detail, but...

"If you must know," Doofenshmirtz said, in an annoyed tone, "I had to stay up long nights just to keep it just between me, myself, and I. I know how much of a chatterbox you can be to some slaves and prisoners. If word got out of my plans..."

"Right," Schnitzel sighed, "It would have reached The Resistance...but, why resort to this?"

"Trust me, I actually thought about killing several of the residents," Doofenshmirtz said, "But then I would lose several capible slaves. No. This is much more practical. Best of all, no matter how insane or stupid they act, they'll only listen to me."

Okay, so, he was planning not only to attract The Resistance, but found an easier way to control others as well. That evil, clever man...

"But how can you be so sure that they'll come out in the open while the Tri-State is in an uproar," Schnitzel asked.

"Oh, they'll come, alright," Doofenshmirtz said, "An uproar might be the key to revealing them...once the Robot Factory is fixed, we'll be able to manufacture millions of screens (that I still haven't figured out a name for) that will spread throughout the areas and-" the man smirked, in a dull, uncaring matter, at the screen "-well, you know the rest."

For the rest of the time, Schnitzel was completely silent.

She didn't know whether the plan would work or not, or even if Doofenshmirtz was really serious about the whole thing or was just acting weird. Maybe it was both? She didn't know. What Schnitzel did know, was that the Tri-State Area had it in for the worst.

**A/N:**

**Well, what do you think? It's a fail, huh?**

**The whole "going insane" bit is a reference to MLP: FiM's character Discord, my favorite villain, who will be shown in the episode "Keep Calm, and Flutter On" where he may change! XD**

**Thank you all for reading this so far! **

**Shout out to iheartphinabella and My Dictator Level is Over 9000! Thanks for being the only ones reviewing this for the past few chapters. ^_^**

**Another shout out to all who have faved and followed this story! You guys are awesome! XD**

**Well, R and R, baby!**

**GTS is out! Peace!**


	11. NOT A CHAPTER! PLEASE READ!

**Oh! Just before I forget...**

**Okay, this isn't a chapter, but I'd like it if you'd read it anyway:**

**For the next chapter, I'm gonna need some help. It's basically gonna be some drabbles about Phineas's life at DEI. So, if you all don't mind, give me some ideas. It can be anything, a word, or just a summary of the idea! Just give me some ideas!**

**Thanks guys! You're all awesomesauce! :D**


	12. Little Moments That Irritate the Soul

**Aaaaand we're back! :D**

**To those who are unaware, this chapter is basically a bunch of drabbles about the life at DEI. I'd like to thank all of you for the requests! They're really helpful. :3**

**This will probably be the funniest chapter. Most likey. :3**

**Enjoy! :D**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 10: Little Moments That Irritate the Soul**

**Pinky?**

The Cyborg chihuahua may have been one of the smallest of his league, but he was a force to be reckoned with. None who dared face him lived to tell about it. As leader of his "pack", if you will, he was probably the most feared of the Cyborgs, as well as the most imfamous among the Tri-State Area.

There was, however, one person who had managed to escape his grasp for some time...

A stupid, red-headed twerp, who they just recently caught. They as in the Norm-Bots...not HIM. Worst still, after the said prisoner escaped, although he managed to take him down, the child fricken lived! That wasn't supposed to happen...thank goodness Doofenshmirtz didn't bare witness to such travesty.

Maybe he was over tired. Maybe...

_"Here Pinky! Here doggy!"_

Whoa...there it was again...that weird voice in his head...it sounded like...a little girl...

_"Good boy, Pinky! I love you so much."_

That voice...

_Pinky was patroling again with Peter the Panda and Chester the Cat. They had spotted some members of the Resistance, a girl with black raven hair. The Cyborgs attacked, and the members fled. The girl, however, stood there, staring as Pinky readied his weapon to fire._

_But something had stopped the Cyborg from attacking..._

_"Pinky?"_

_For the first time, in the Cyborg's life, he froze._

...IsAbEllA?

**XI**

**Stupid Panda is Stupid**

While Pinky was a top rank Cyborg, Doofenshmirtz still questioned why he even bothered making Peter. Yes, Doofenshmirtz built each Cyborg. NOT Schnitzel. He's not lazy, you know.

Back to the topic at hand, Peter the Pandaborg was probably the dumbest, clumsiest, and most accident-prone of the Borgs. While his group would be ordered to go East, he'd go West thinking the command was going _Wheast_. He'd trip down the stairs even though he can fly, so he didn't even need to go down them in the first place. And he gets hit by a fricken bus or taxi on a regular basis.

Oh, but that's just the tip of the ice berg! Why, one day, while Phineas was working on the latest version of the Norm-Bots (the kid thought that Doofenshmirtz was vain, but not enough to make a huge robot that had his head), Peter had wandered in for no apparant reason.

Well, not wandered in. _Ran _in. And there was a reason. It was check-up day.

The stupid pandaborg proceeded to jump at Phineas, freaking out, knocking the kid against the Norm-Bot, which caused a domino effect. Why the heck were there several other Norm-Bots, in a line no less, right behind the one Phineas was wroking on?

Phineas was just about ready to strangle the panda when Peter noticed his sudden rage and began to run for his life, with Phineas chasing after him.

The results were Phineas being in the Ice Box for the rest of the day, while Peter was sent to the infirmary for his daily check-up...

"Peter, what am I gonna do with you," asked Schnitzel, who was tending to the Cyborg's open wounds.

...as well as the usual.

**XI**

**Punishment**

The type of punishment a slave had to go through depended on the action and rank.

Schnitzel was probably the luckiest of them all, seeing as she was practically second-in-command of DEI. As such, her only punishment would be the Ice Box. Better still, she liked the cold, so it wasn't really that much of a punishment. Despite everyone's jealousy towards her for such "light" torture, they were always reminded that she had to see Doofenshmirtz every single day, and that it was punishment enough to face the dictator even in a normal conversation about everyday life.

The Cyborgs would be dunked into pools filled with pirhannas, either being attacked by the little fish of doom or inevitably rust until they were tended to. This rarely happened, even to Peter, since the idiotic panda was tortured enough by the day as is.

The other slaves and prisoners, like Phineas, had it the hardest. They'd be put into the Ice Box, thrown in pirhanna pools, and far more. Whipping, amputation, and shock therapy were just a couple of them. And death wasn't even the _worst _of them all.

Sometimes Phineas would be forced to watch a prisoner be sent to their doom. You'd think that the Goozim would eat the slave in one chomp, seeing as how big the fur-cube was. But no, it was far more gorey than those think. Goozims tended to play with their food being eating it, you see.

The beast would chew up the victim first, then spit him/her into the air, the food barely still alive and suffering. The body would go splat onto the ground, and blood would stain the flooring. The lucky ones would fall into the lava below and would die almost instantly. As for those of misfortune, they'd be thrown around like a rag doll before finally dying in peace.

In the young boy's own perspective, the person sentenced to death, or at this moment, being sent to his doom, was luckier than anyone in DEI. At least they'd get away from this living hell for the rest of eternity (unless they were sent to the actual hell, otherwise he'd feel very bad for the said person). But aside from that, Phineas had the sudden realization that watching someone die, was far worse than dying himself, and began wondering if Doofenshmirtz was punishing him for an act of disobedience, or just to torture him for the fun of it.

**XI**

**Love Story**

Dr. Alice Schnitzel was probably the biggest bookworm around, having stashed hundreds upon hundreds of books in her closet, desk, anywhere Doofenshmirtz wouldn't find it (heaven knows why the guy didn't notice the books in her shelves). Why the heck would the man ban reading, she would never know. If she recalled, he himself liked to read a lot when they were younger. There used to be a library in DEI before the man went crazy and took over the Tri-State Area. Sometimes, Schnitzel would have some kind of paranoia that Doofenshmirtz knew all along that she had secret stashes of books all over the building.

Schnitzel liked to read all kinds of genres: adventure, sci-fi, slice-of-life, anything that was several pages of paper with words, sandwiched between binding. However, her favorite genre was probably romance.

It wasn't because of the kissy-kissy ga-ga mush, or the sexual intamacy between the lovers. It was that, usually, the boy and girl, both completely different from the other, truly cared about each other.

_"Hello! My name is Alice. I just moved into town, and I wanted to say hi to the neighbors. What's your name?"_

They'd stick together, through thick and thin.

_"__**Laugh**__? I wear a dress all the time, and I don't see __**you**__ laughing at __**me**__."_

No matter what happens.

_"Don't look at me like that! This is perfectly safe...come on, it's just sledding! Down a tall hill! Into the resiviour!"_

Even if the other decided to go with someone else, the other would support their love along the way...

_"O-oh, that's great Heinz! This is a very...big step on the road to your happiness! He-he..."_

...no matter what...

_"Am I alright? Yeah! I'm fine, really! Th-these are tears of joy, Heinz!"_

Phineas entered the room, a tired, almost bored look on his face.

"Dr. Schnitzel! Doofus nee-...you like Doofenshmirtz?"

"GIVE THAT PICTURE BACK YOU STUPID LITTLE TWERP!"

_"I'm sorry, but, I won't be able to make the wedding, Heinz. I'm afraid I'll be too __**busy **__on that day..."_

**XI**

**Accident**

The Norm-Bot was supposed to be the biggest of all the others, big enough to pilot from the inside. And Phineas was supposed to build it by himself, while being watched by around ten Norm-Bots. You know, in case the kid got any ideas of getting on the giant, metallic sucker and using it to get the heck out of there. Phineas didn't even bother denying the fact, and simply shrugged when Doofenshmirtz told him the number of reasons why he couldn't build the machine without the use of guards.

_Let's see...red wire goes here..._

The project took about three days, non-stop, not even for food or sleep. _Yes_, Phineas was feeling tired, weak, and above all stressed. Whatever gave you _that_ idea?

_...Blue wire...green..._

Phineas yawned, fluttering his eyes open and close every once in a while. It wouldn't be long before he finally decided to close his eyes shut, and...

The sound of sparking and electrical surges were heard, catching the Norm-Bots's attention. A few of them flew over to see what had happened, or if Phineas had done anything suspicious, only to find that the boy had fallen into the machine, and was currently tangled in wires, twitching in pain, his hair literally sparking.

_BluePurpleplumdede-Hablah..._

"Ugh...huh...where am I?"

"Hey, stupid kid-"

"Oh gosh, it's you..."

"-You've been asleep!"

"Then, I wasn't building the machine yet?"

"No, you've been asleep...for a week...and twelve minutes...and by the way, Doofenshmirtz says you're in _big_ trouble for falling into a coma during work hours."

Phineas's eyes widened. Evil, crazy, or not, who the heck punished someone for being _comatose?_

**XI**

**Boyborg**

Ever since that horrible nightmare, Phineas's biggest fear had been being turned into a Cyborg. The thought always came to mind randomly, particularly when he was talking to Doofenshmirtz. Since he had part of Schnitzel's job, he had to see the old man just as much as she did.

Why the heck did the world hate Phineas so much? Did he do something wrong?

_Well, whatever it is, I'm sorry, universe._

One day, Phineas was called to Doofenshmirtz's office, again. This time, the red-head hadn't an inkling of why. When he made it to the purple and green room (that's not really specific enough, considering the entire building was that color; heck, the entire _town_ was that color!) he found no dictator, but instead an empty desk with blueprints scrambled on the top surface.

Curiously, Phineas went over to see the technical drawings for himself. Just what did the dictator draw in his spare time...

_Hm...a nuclear cannon? Interesting..._

_...Wow. A flying vessel with Doofenshmirtz's face. Now the boy knew that Doofenshmirtz was vain..._

_...TV screens? Why would he make drawings of..._

Phineas's heart nearly stopped. The next blueprint had the picture of what looked like himself...as a...

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

*slam*

...

"He-he-he! He fell for it! He actually fell for it!"

"Mission accomplished. Take us down, Norm-588."

"By the way, are you really going to turn him into a Norm-Bot?"

"I'll never tell, Alice."

"...You know what? I'm not even mad at you. You stick with your principles, Doofus."

"What did you call me?"

"Nothing."

**IX**

**Dictator**

Doofenshmirtz had always been cruel at heart, as any dictator.

Yes, he had an army. No, they weren't perfect, but they kept everything in line.

Yes, he had slaves. No, they didn't always try to escape.

Yes, they nearly got away. No, they _didn't_ survive afterwards.

Sure, he was once a nice, young boy at some point, but that had changed when war hit Gimmelshtump.

Yes, he _did_ feel better when he met Charlene. No, he never noticed that Alice only began calling him by his last name when he married her.

Yes, he didn't seem too heartless then, and even acted kind to others who needed it then. No, he wasn't like that now; his heart was completely black.

Yes, he once had everything. No, he didn't give in when it was all taken from him.

Yes, he married again. No, it wasn't because of divorce.

Yes, he had a child...no, _she_ wasn't around anymore...

"Hi, Doofenshmirtz, I got more blueprints."

"Good. Put them on the desk."

Yes, he felt _fine_.

No, he wasn't _crying_.

**XI**

**Sweet, Sweet, Sabatoge**

"But, Doofenshmirtz! I'm telling you, it wasn't me this time!"

"Nope. Both of you are staying in this Ice Box until further notice."

"YOU'RE NOT MY MO-!"

*slam*

"URGH!"

...

"He-he-he..."

"I hate you so much, kid."

"That'll teach you _both _not to trick me into thinking I was gonna turn into a Cyborg."

"Wait...both?"

Phineas grinned.

...Uh-oh...

**XI**

**Meanwhile**

"I AM GOING TO FRICKEN _KILL_ THAT BRAT," Doofenshmirtz yelled when the Norm-Bot proceeded to set his entire office in a wave of flames.

Peter the Cyborg walked over, eyeing the scene before saying, "You know, they say you shouldn't stand too close to a blazing infirno, but it's actually not that ba-."

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

**XI**

**Lesson Learned**

Although Phineas hadn't managed to make sure Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel wouldn't mess with him again, as he laid on the cell floor in a bloody mess, he learned not to piss off the guy in charge...especially if the one in charge was Doofenshmirtz. _Cringe._

**XI**

**Food, Glorious Food**

At DEI, there was only one meal a day, but it was big enough for someone to make it through work. For Phineas, as disgusting as the food was, it was heaven. Anything was better than what he had to eat while he was roaming the Tri-State Area with Perry.

...Now, if only he could identify what exactly it was he was eating, and if he could tell for certain if it was poisoned or not...

**XI**

**Sweet Dreams**

Phineas was only two when his father left, so he didn't remember much about the man. Little tid-bits, here and there, but that was about it. He always remembered a little bit more by dreams, good or bad. Even fathers weren't perfect, after all, but that didn't stop him from looking for him. Sometimes, he'd sneak into the central computer room and attempt to search for him that way...only to get into trouble.

This night was no different from the rest. The slaves all slept in what looked like a shelter home. Phineas, however, slept in a cell. No one knew why, but no one dared question Doofenshmirtz's reasons.

The prison floors were stone cold, and sleeping on them were something to get used to. But after a while, if everything was calm and quiet, Phineas would be fast asleep...

_Phineas heard screaming in the other room, and wasn't so sure what was going on. He asked Candace what their parents were fighting about, but, she didn't say a word. The next thing he knew, his mother walked out of the room with the rage of a dragon, and went locked herself in her work room. While Candace went to do her usual things, trying to mentally wash away what had happened, Phineas went to see if his father was okay._

_He didn't know why the man was so upset, but all the anger and stress seemed to disappear when his son came into the room..._

**XI**

**...WTF?**

Schnitzel was rolling on the ground, giggling like a mad woman, while Doofenshmirtz was glaring at Phineas, who stared in shock.

"Now you know why I hid the caffiene," Doofenshmirtz said.

"Will she be okay," Phineas asked.

"Eh, she's always like this when she's hyper. Give her a minute..."

Schnitzel got out a flamethrower that she seemed to summon at will...

"...make that an hour..."

...then proceeded to turn it on, a blast of fire shooting onto the walls next to her...

"...on second thought, get the Norm-Bots."

For once, Phineas didn't hesitate or complain at a command from Doofenshmirtz. In fact, he was thankful that the man actually didn't leave him there to fend for himself against the now insane Schnitzel...but then proceeded to feel a small amount of guilt for the dictator who right now proceeded to grab a chair and hit Schnitzel on the back of the head with it (or at least tried), considering the fact that, this time, it _was_ his fault.

**A/N:**

**Ah, drabbles. They're so fun. :)**

**Thank you, My Dictator Level is Over 9000 (who I assume is still in a fit of insanity from looking into the screens of insanity or whatever), GryffindorSpark, and Hufflepuffin for your requests. :)**

**Thanks for the reviews! They mean a lot to me! :D**

**Please, don't hesistate to write constructive criticism. But flamers, if you have something bad to say at least tell me how I can improve.**


	13. He Had a What Now?

**I am so, so, so, so, sorry! My stupid computer broke down, and is being fixed as we speak. I may have to get a new computer, unfortunately…**

**But luckily my Dad is letting me use his lap-top, so, I can continue the stories from here! :D**

**Guess what? A new character's being introduced! :D No, not a main character. Just a really important one that will be mentioned through the story. Don't worry, tho. You all know her. ;)**

**I own nothing but this story, and the OCs Applejack-2 and Dr. Alice Schnitzel-2 (as well as their counterparts that are not in this fic)**

**Enjoy. :3**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 11: He Had a What Now?**

About three to four months had passed now, and Phineas had learned to get used to the chores and jobs at DEI. Still, there were the occasions where he'd try to escape, but those plans always seemed to fail. Not because of the Norm-Bots or Cyborgs, but because of Doofenshmirtz. Phineas had once asked Schnitzel if Doofenshmirtz had a device that could teleport him to different areas of the building, or a machine that could predict the future. Schnitzel began laughing until she realized that Phineas was being totally serious...and then she said that she had her suspicions but learned to shrug it off.

Phineas had also gotten used to the Norm-Bots, but seemed afraid of the Cyborgs (except for Peter; stupid panda is stupid, stupid, stupid). The Norm-Bots didn't seem too bad, and if anything were really stupid. Of course, there were the few that had at least a bit of consciousness and maybe some intelligence, but their knowledge only went so far. The Cyborgs on the other hand were heartless pieces of machinery, who were merely shells of their former selves. Weaponry. That's what they were.

Maybe Pinky had some hope. Maybe...he retained the most memories, yet they seemed so vague except for one. A girl...with black hair...Isabella...

But for the most part he didn't seem to care.

It was still a mystery what side Schnitzel was on. On one had, she seemed to pity the servants, including Phineas, and even stood up for them from time to time. On the other hand, she laughed just as much as Doofenshmirtz when they were all sent to their doom, whether she meant to or not. She laughed. She enjoyed their pain. Yet, she still seemed to care, in some ways, about their safety.

Her main concerns remained on Doofenshmirtz. She wondered to herself what was going on in his head. It was more than just the Resistance, or the growth of his empire. Something was obviously bothering him. Otherwise, he would act easily angered like usual, or threaten something horrible whenever someone lightly insulted him.

Now he just acted so...bored? Schnitzel didn't know. He hadn't really changed much, so no one really took notice. It was only those small details, such as the tone of voice, the change of expression, lack of reaction...it honestly worried Schnitzel.

Phineas had, on some particular time, noticed this as well, but could heed less...

...That is, until now. Where one particular moment, in the halls of DEI, behind a closed-door, lies the key to Doofenshmirtz's madness...

**.**

**.**

**.**

_It was a quiet morning. Doofenshmirtz was sitting in the living room of an oddly normal looking home. He was reading a book, like usual. So relaxed. So calm._

_Then someone else came in. She was a little girl with brown hair, blue eyes, and a black dress with red buttons. She looked no more than five. Doofenshmirtz immediately ignored the book he was reading, all of his attention suddenly drawn to this child, a warm smile on his face. She held up a picture to him, happily._

_It was a drawing of herself and Doofenshmirtz. Four words, a couple that were misspelled, was written underneath the two stick-figures._

**_._**

**_._**

**_._**

"...Now, Doofenshmirtz, I know it looks bad-."

"I'm gonna kill him."

"C'mon, that's a little harsh, don'tcha think?"

Schnitzel felt faint as Doofenshmirtz gave her a death glare.

"...I see your point."

The room they were now in were covered with destroyed Norm-Bots and broken machinery. Two Cyborgs (Pinky and Peter) were both trapped underneath a pile of "dead" robots, and were struggling to break free while Pinky was yelling in Spanish how it was all Phineas and (somehow) Peter's fault. Schnitzel barely got to the room in time to see Phineas fleeing for dear life after the even occurred while Doofenshmirtz just came into the room demanding an explanation.

_"Well, all I caught was Phineas running out of the room-."_

_"It was his fault, wasn't it?"_

_"Uh...probably..."_

"Where is he now," Doofenshmirtz asked in one of the darkest tones he could muster.

Schnitzel stared, silent out of fear, trying to find the right words. "Um...er...gulp."

"Well?"

"I-I don't know. He just ran down the hall and vanished around the corner."

"Which way?"

Schnitzel pointed out the door stupidly, and then was grabbed by the collar, being forced to stare into the eyes of her ruler. "WHICH. WAY?"

"R-r-right hall," Schnitzel stuttered, "Th-then t-t-t-turned...uh..."

Doofenshmirtz tightened his grip, and Schnitzel suddenly found it hard to breath. The man had moved his hands to her throat, as if he intentionally wanted to kill her. He wasn't just angry. He was beyond pissed.

"WHERE?"

"L...l..." Schnitzel's face turned blue, "...Le...LEFT!"

Right when she gasped out her answer that also seemed to beg for oxygen, Doofenshmirtz released her, not caring that she fell to the ground coughing heavily. Doofenshmirtz walked around her, left the room, and went to pursue the red-headed twerp who had pinched his nerve for the last time. Schnitzel managed to compose herself, as she stared at the doorway, nearly jaw-dropped at what had just occurred. Doofenshmirtz nearly killed her...and then spared her life?

The grown woman didn't even bother helping the Cyborgs. She was in too much of a daze as is.

"W...what...just...happened?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"I'm dead! I'm gonna die! GAH!"

Panic filled Phineas in a matter of seconds as he ran through the seemingly endless hallways. It felt like the first time he ventured through them, only this time he was more concerned with avoiding Doofenshmirtz, not trying to escape. Yes, it was a perfect time to escape, but that was what the dictator expected. And from the damage he caused now...

He took another turn, going through halls he hadn't been in before. Yes, Phineas was getting himself lost, and he wasn't thinking though the direction at all. Could you blame him?

The hall he turned to lead to...Phineas slowed down as he looked up at the ceiling of the large room. It had been painted sky blue, with white dashes like clouds. A chandelier hung from the said ceiling, lighting up the entire room that looked a lot like a giant playroom. Phineas looked ahead to see another hallway that lead out of the room. Phineas glanced behind him, then at the strange hallway...he shrugged, and went forward, forgetting about Doofenshmirtz or the serious trouble he was in.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"What was mommy like?"_

_Doofenshmirtz sighed. He had expected that question for a while, and it hardly surprised him that she asked him now. He turned to the little girl and said, "She was a beautiful, loving woman. She was kind, caring, brave...just like you."_

_The little girl smiled widely at this. She was just like her mother, just a young, playful, childish version. He managed to move on because of his little girl. His daughter...Vanessa._

**.**

**.**

**.**

The walls were painted in all sorts of colors, like a rainbow. It seemed a bit happy for Doofenshmirtz's taste. That only rose up more curiosity. Where did this hallway lead to? Phineas stopped in front of a wooden door with a golden knob. He stared at it for a moment before deciding to opening the door to see what was on the other side.

He touched the door-knob and immediately felt a chilling vibe. It felt like there had been an accident in that room...a death...Phineas swallowed and turned the knob.

**.**

**.**

**.**

After an hour passed, Doofenshmirtz gave up trying to find the little twerp on his own and went to check the monitors. He had no idea that Phineas-accidentally, maybe?-entered the room that he had made sure no one would enter. He had no idea that none of the slaves nor Schnitzel had warned Phineas not to got near the room. And further more, he had no idea of what Phineas had found...

**.**_  
><em>

**.**

**.**

Phineas stared in horror. It was an ordinary little girl's room: pink, with a nice bed that had piles of stuffed animals on top of the mattress, and a large dresser. That didn't frighten him the slightest. It was the bloodstain on the wall that scared him.

There had been an accident there. A huge accident. One that once again led to Doofenshmirtz. And yet, something else seemed bothersome. Something etched another question...one that bother him as he glanced over to the dresser.

The mirror on the piece of furniture had shattered, but that's not what caught Phineas's attention. Not completely, anyway. It was a picture-frame, sitting in front of it. It was small, yet, time was obviously put into making the frame. Phineas took the picture-frame to see who the photo was of. His eyes widened, feeling a sense of shock and almost horror.

It was Doofenshmirtz...and a little girl with brown hair. And they looked...so...happy...

Phineas stared at the picture for a while, letting all of it sink into to his brain. It all made sense: the hall, the room, the picture...

**.**

**.**

**.**

...But when he saw, on one of the screens, Phineas entering the room that had been so sacred to him, a new kind of rage filled him. He was literally seeing _red_ at the image of the curious boy. No, he wasn't going to kill the him...

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Doofenshmirtz had a _daughter_?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

...He was going to make him _beg _for death.

**A/N:**

**...Well...this chapter turned out shorter than I planned. ^^;**

**I'm gonna start writing more in the next chapter...I hope you liked it, and also hope that it was worth the wait. Again, I apologize sincerely for the long wait!**

**Please, read and review! :D**


	14. Curiosity

**Hello, my wonderful followers, my awesome fans, and the flamers who have absolutely ****_no_**** lives! I have returned with another chapter! :D**

**Over fifty reviews...that is fricken awesome! XD I write a fic about Phineas being tortured (well, not really, but that could be considered a sub-sub-sub-sub-plot...or, not a plot at all, but, whatever) and no comeuppance! Truly I am an awesome author! :DDDDD**

**Alt. Phineas: *walks over to me, twitching, holding a bat***

**Oh, hiya Alt. Phin! What'cha doin' here?**

**Alt. Phineas: Hold still, so I can make this quick.**

**Wait, what? H-hey, what are you doing with that bat? Phin-PHINEAS! Do NOT come any closer! AAHH!**

***SMASH***

***SHATTER***

***CRASH***

**HELP! THIS FICTIONAL CHARACTER IS TRYING TO KILL ME! D:**

**Alt. Phineas: STAND STILL, HOW CAN I KILL YOU IF YOU KEEP MOVING? DX**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own the show Phineas and Ferb nor it's characters; I only own this story, Dr. Alice Schnitzel, and Applejack the Pygmy Goat**_

**Danni: HEY! DX**

_**Oh, and Danni Alexandria**_

**Danni: Thank ya kindly. :) *to the audience* Enjoy, ya'll! :D**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 12: Curiosity**

Doofenshmirtz never really talked much about what his life was like before he took over the Tri-State Area. Schnitzel knew a ton of things about the man she grew up with. Of course, Perry the Platypus actually knew more about him, the reason being that Doofenshmirtz would ramble about things in his life that he didn't even tell Schnitzel. But, neither of them knew much about his family.

Not his parents or his little brother; they knew a lot about them. His wife and children on the other hand were a complete mystery.

There had been a time before Doofenshmirtz's first wife came around where Schnitzel asked about his sexuality. After that, it got a little awkward to be around each other for a few weeks, after Doofenshmirtz had to explain to her that he was heterosexual. To this day, he questioned why she even asked the question in the first place. It wasn't like he was missing any hints she was giving him or anything, she didn't even like him that way. Doofenshmirtz had always thought that their relationship was completely platonic.

Him having children? Now that was least expected to most people. Schnitzel didn't even know if he had any. She had cut of communications with him after he got married the first time. It was only after the wife mysteriously disappeared did Schnitzel try to work things out with her oblivious companion, who of course fell in love again with another woman. Schnitzel didn't even know if they got married, nor did she care anymore. She left after having her heart broken too many times.

What she didn't even know was that Doofenshmirtz was actually good with children. He knew how they thought, he knew their desires. Though he hated to admit it, there was a time where he loved children, and grew up wanting to have at least one kid. And he did. In the form of the little girl known only as Vanessa.

Naturally, he would have been so happy to see his baby girl for the first time after she was born...but, that was just the beginning of a tragedy. Doofenshmirtz wanted a child so bad, but, never expected to raise one...on his own.

But like I said, that was just the beginning...it gets worse the more you look into it.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Doofenshmirtz had a _daughter_?"

There was no mistake about it. The girl was adorable, and didn't have the slight ugliness that her father had, but she had his brown hair and blue eyes. She definitely had _some_ relation to the evil dictator, and by the looks of the picture their relationship seemed rather bonded. The whole thing still disturbed the young boy as he examined the photo. Doofenshmirtz was a heartless dictator with no soul (okay, maybe that was a little harsh to think, but), not a father.

Yet, the evidence stated that Doofenshmirtz had a child. A daughter. But, why...how could...who would...?

Phineas turned the frame around to see two names, one that made him cringe and the other that rose up his curiosity:

_**Daddy and Vanessa**_

"Vanessa," Phineas murmured, "That's her name...Vanessa..."

"What are you doing?"

Phineas turned white. The voice sounded like venom mixed with violent fury. Worse still, it was a voice he was all too familiar with. The young boy suddenly remembered why he ended up in the room in the first place as he heard foot-steps and the sound of a fist gently pounding into a palm.

_I'm dead._

**.**

**.**

**.**

Schnitzel stayed in the room to see through with it's repairs. She rubbed her throat a few times, her lobe feeling a little sore. If Doofenshmirtz were feeling himself, he would have killed her. Then again, if he were really himself...no, this wasn't the old Heinz she was talking about. This was the dictator that took over the Tri-State Area.

_Focus, Alice, focus..._

She took a deep breath. There was time before the mad man got back...maybe she could...

"Norm-32, may I ask of your assistance?"

The said Norm-Bot turned to her, ignoring his duty of repairing the room that had just been destroyed, supposedly because of Phineas and the whole reason why this debacle began. "What is it, Miss Schnitzel," the robot asked in a mechanical voice.

Schnitzel sighed, feeling hesitant, even a bit light headed at the thought. This was considered treason. Betrayal. Mutiny. The list of words that were linked to "traitor" went on. If Doofenshmirtz found out, she would surely be sent to her doom like anyone else who dared to try stabbing the dictator in the back.

Safe to say, she knew that he would be too preoccupied with his "revenge quest" to even notice. Besides, she had no intention of harming him. This was for his own good.

"I need help getting into Doofenshmirtz's files."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Uh..."

"Well...?"

Phineas turned around with the picture behind his back. "He-he, funny story actually-."

"Put that picture back where you found it, or I'm gonna do worse than what I'm about to do now."

Phineas immediately obeyed with a blank wide-eyed expression. "Uh, can't we settle this diplomatically," Phineas asked in desperation.

Doofenshmirtz laughed at this maniacally. Phineas backed up against the dresser fearfully, when Doofenshmirtz grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, his sarcastic glee defenestrated by his growing anger. "No," he answered.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"UGH! Where does he keep those documents," Schnitzel groaned as she looked through Doofenshmirtz's office.

Norm-32, who was keeping watch for anyone who happened to pass by, looked rather nervous for a machine that wasn't supposed to display any emotion. Yet, even unconscious beings seemed to fear Doofenshmirtz, despite their lack of feelings. Further more, The Norm-Bots weren't exactly heartless pieces of metal. Somehow, Doofenshmirtz managed to give them personalities without actually meaning to. This Norm-Bot in particular had a bit of commonsense, and was aware of the invisible line that he...it, and Schnitzel were crossing.

"Are you done yet," Norm-32 asked, "What if Doofenshmirtz-?"

"FOUND THEM," Schnitzel covered her mouth, before bashfully saying, "Oops."

She opened the yellow folder like it was an ancient treasure that when tampered with would trigger a contrivance meant for causing harm to anyone trying to obtain the sacred item. "Alright," Schnitzel muttered to herself, "Let's see what you've been hiding from me, Heinz..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Distressing emotions of impending danger refused to let Phineas come up with any rational decision. One moment he had been cornered by Doofenshmirtz, and the next he had been slammed against a wall. Doofenshmirtz twitched, feeling belligerence that rarely crossed his logical mind. He had thought about killing the boy before, but this...this was what made it final.

_Heinz, don't do this!_

Doofenshmirtz paused for a moment, to give a small glance to the side. The action was left unnoticed by Phineas, who was bracing himself.

_Don't be an idiot, Heinz! Remember your plan? What about Perry the Platypus?_

"I'll find him some other way," Doofenshmirtz muttered. This time, Phineas managed to pay enough attention to hear Doofenshmirtz's dark whispers.

_What about the machines? Surely the Factory won't be fixed for a while more. Phineas works faster than anyone you've encountered. What happened to keeping the useful ones alive?_

"I don't care anymore," Doofenshmirtz growled.

"...Doofenshmirtz," Phineas asked, unable to see anyone else in the room, "Who are you talking to?"

_You don't care? Oh, please, how cliche. We both know what's really going on upstairs in your head. We know there's something more to it than not caring._

"Doofenshmirtz," Phineas asked again after not getting a response.

Doofenshmirtz wasn't even looking at Phineas, and was glaring to the side, like there was another person there. But there were only two people in the room: Phineas and Doofenshmirtz. Phineas eyed the man, who seemed to be having a conversation with the air.

"Are you...talking to...yourself," Phineas asked.

_Honestly, you're just like a children's book; you're easy to read, in my perspective. You obviously have had trouble stating your emotions since the beginning of this whole so-called "power hungry" fiasco. In reality, it's not power that you want. You don't want anyone getting in your way, but that doesn't mean you originally planned to hurt anyone._

"Shut-up..."

Phineas stared at the dictator, a new feeling arousing inside of himself. He was worried. For who though? Himself...or, surprisingly, Doofenshmirtz?

On one hand, Doofenshmirtz was about to kill him, and was going to do it far worse than any Goozim could. On the other hand, the insane man seemed rather upset about something. This had been the first time Phineas saw Doofenshmirtz, or anyone for that matter, act like this.

_Another cliche. My word, you're full of those today!** Think**, Heinz. You're good at that, aren't you? Quit lying to yourself and handle the problem! You're not some all-powerful god, you're a human being with a conscience._

"Shut-up..."

_You're not doing this because you've been wanting this all your life. You're coping. Over everything and one that's wronged you, over all the things you've lost...everything you loved vanishing into thin air..._

"SHUT-UP!"

With that, Doofenshmirtz threw Phineas to the side. The red-head collided with another wall, just beside the bed in the room. Doofenshmirtz panted heavily, while Phineas groaned in pain. The boy thought to himself that it was at least better than dying, but...

Phineas noticed Doofenshmirtz stop breathing. He looked to see the dictator staring at the wall. It was then that Phineas realized that Doofenshmirtz had pinned him against the bloodstained wall. What memories Doofenshmirtz had of what caused this, Phineas was unsure of.

Doofenshmirtz flinched back to reality, and turned to Phineas with a harsh stare. Phineas gasped and tried backing away, but being only about a yard away from Doofenshmirtz, he didn't have much of an advantage on the floor. Doofenshmirtz grabbed by the shirt again, staring into the boy's eyes threateningly...

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"Daddy...?"_

_..._

_"Daddy, what are you doing?"_

**.**

**.**

**.**

Whoa...what the heck was that?

The clamorous behavior seemed to stop all together. Doofenshmirtz stared at Phineas, dumbfounded. Phineas himself looked confused at this reaction. The young boy felt like he should be dead by now. Shouldn't he?

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"Daddy, the machines, what are you...?"_

_"I'M FIXING THEM!"_

_"Dad, I don't know if that's-."_

_"I SAID I'M FIXING THEM YOU STUPID BRAT! DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO YOUR ELDERS!"_

**.**

**.**

**.**

Doofenshmirtz's head spun, the strange, faded scene playing over and over again as he stared at the boy. Phineas didn't know how to react. He was used to Doofenshmirtz acting like the thing he was: an abusive dictator. Right now, Doofenshmirtz was...well, Phineas couldn't put his finger on it, but it wasn't the way Doofenshmirtz usually acted.

With a short intake of breath, Phineas felt himself being dropped to the floor. He looked up at Doofenshmirtz, who was glaring again, but not in the usual dark way. If anything, he seemed to have mollified to an extent, looking more out of order than angry. His voice seemed calmer, but the stress was still there, as well as the irritation towards Phineas.

"Get out," Doofenshmirtz let out an audible breath, one that sounded a tad bit sorrowful.

"Doofenshmirtz, I..." Wait a minute. What was he doing? He didn't care about Doofenshmirtz. Whatever was going on didn't bother him the le-.

"GET OUT!"

Phineas jumped a bit before bolting out the door, through the hall, and out of the room with the chandelier. Doofenshmirtz stayed in the room, allowing painful memories to pour onto his mind. He turned, and took a long look at the picture of himself and his daughter before slamming his fist against the wall that had been stained by the red fluids that once belonged to the little girl. Doofenshmirtz slid to his knees, leaning his head to the wall, as he felt his remaining eye become misty.

What had he done?

**.**

**.**

**.**

"...Oh Heinz..."

Schnitzel let out a deep sigh as she rubbed her temples with one hand, and held the document in the other. She had learned two things from reading the said documents that she was told never to look at:

1. Doofenshmirtz had a daughter

and

2. His daughter was dead

She didn't just die, she was murdered. At the hands of an old enemy, no less. Schnitzel wished that she hadn't been so curious about the man now. She wished that she didn't care about the person that had ruined her life to the point of driving her mad.

And yet, she broke out in small sobs after she finished reading the papers. Norm-32 turned to her, completely confused about what was going on in her head right now.

_I should have known...I should have known..._

**.**

**.**

**.**

A week had passed, and things around DEI became rather quiet. It was pretty calm without Doofenshmirtz walking by the slaves at random, sometimes just when someone happens to be slacking off. Still, it felt a bit off. To Schnitzel and Phineas anyway.

The reason for Schnitzel's concern was rather obvious, and no worth looking over. She had been, at one time, Doofenshmirtz's best friend, after all, even if he seemed to completely forget about that. Phineas's reason, on the other hand, was a bit hard to explain. In fact, he still didn't know why he felt so bad. He should feel great that he managed to cause such a stir in Doofenshmirtz, but...

It was weird, really. Phineas had thought about the confused emotions racing through him. Then began wondering if they were towards Doofenshmirtz at all, as opposed to someone else. Maybe the girl? The only problem was that he didn't know much about this girl other than what she looked like.

He would feel bad for her having such a terrible father, but, by the looks of the picture he saw, Doofenshmirtz didn't seem like a bad father. In fact, he seemed like the exact opposite. By the little information Phineas had gotten, Doofenshmirtz seemed like he honestly cared about this child. But that would mean that Doofenshmirtz used to be someone other than a dictator. Which, yes, that might have been true, but...then again...

Then again Doofenshmirtz now was a ruthless, uncaring tyrant.

Then again there might have been a time where he wasn't.

Then again that was then, and this is now.

Then again, didn't that mean that he was still human?

...Oh, blast it all! Blast it all! Pray that it all would pay, and have the King in Yellow sent into their non-physical left ear!

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Schnitzel?"

The woman who was sitting on the roof of DEI flinched. She turned to see Phineas, entering from a hatch on the roof. The entire building had some similarities to an apartment building, and considering that it formerly was an apartment, these facts still stood. Neither Phineas nor Schnitzel looked happy, but they weren't upset. Just deep in thought.

"Oh, hey," Schnitzel greeted rather casually, "Haven't seen you in a while. Been working hard?"

"It's late, you know," Phineas said, a bit quietly for him, and trying to change the subject from anything that had to do with work.

Today was just far more stressful than usual. No, not because of Doofenshmirtz. If anything, he hadn't seen the despot since he accidentally trespassed into his supposed daughter's room.

Schnitzel gave a weak smirk. "Heh, like I'm gonna listen to a kid," she said sarcastically.

Phineas rolled his eyes and cracked the smallest of smiles as he went over to Schnitzel, sitting on the edge of the concrete roof. Silence ruled the moment for about twelve to twenty minutes. It was the first peace either of them had for a while, and in all honesty, neither of them wanted to spoil the moment. But, both of them had things to resolve about the matter, and knew that one or the other had to break the silence at one point.

"...Did you know about," Phineas trailed off for a moment, "...Doofenshmirtz having-?"

"-a daughter," Schnitzel finished. Phineas nodded, which Schnitzel responded with a small outtake of breath. "Well, to be honest," she said, "No. I didn't. Not until recently."

Another still moment swept over them, this one being shorter than the other. "How did you find out," Schnitzel asked in a bitter tone that caught Phineas off-guard, "Did the Norm-Bots tell you?"

"No," Phineas answered, "I, kind of, went into a room that was apparently forbidden of en-."

"You went to the room down the hall of the Chandelier Space, as I call it?"

"...Huh?"

"No one told you about that," Schnitzel asked in astonishment, "No one's aloud in that room. Ever. Except for Doofenshmirtz, but, he doesn't even go in there. There was a rumor about this one guy who went into that room and..."

Schnitzel's eyes widened. Clearly the fate of this person was far worse than any other fate given to by Doofenshmirtz. "Never-mind," she shook it off, "I just remembered that it's not that important."

Phineas blinked. "Uh, okay," he said, "Well, how did you find out?"

"I went into his documents," Schnitzel said more plainly than she should have said it.

"...Aren't you worried that Doofenshmirtz may find out and gouge out your _eyes_," Phineas asked.

"Yeah, I am," Schnitzel admitted, "I mean, c'mon, gouge out my eyes? My biggest fear is going blind, man! The very thought of it-...UGH! I don't even wanna think about it!"

Schnitzel cringed, but managed to compose herself. "But, I'm sure it's safe to say that he'll never find out. Ever."

Phineas nodded. An evil idea came to mind for him to rat Schnitzel out for back-stabbing him, and telling Doofenshmirtz about his father. Sad to say, Phineas had been too busy to be searching for his father, but thought about him more than anyone else. He began reading that letter more than once a day now, especially when he was feeling down. It never failed to cheer him up.

Right now, the letter wasn't what he needed. He needed answers more than ever.

"It was really weird," Phineas said.

"What," Schnitzel asked.

"Seeing Doofenshmirtz so upset," Phineas said, "I didn't even think he could act so sad about something."

_Of course__, _Schnitzel thought with a sad smile. The logic of a child, and most adults: Doofenshmirtz was bad, a tyrant...and therefore that had to make him all bad. There couldn't be a single thing in him that made him a real person, as opposed to a creature that made the lives of Phineas, as well as the inhabitants of the Tri-State Area, miserable.

"Well," Schnitzel said, "I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but, if that girl really was his daughter, then I would have assumed that he'd be upset about losing her."

"Losing her," Phineas asked, in a tone almost filled with dread as if he already pieced together the little girl's fate.

Schnitzel turned away, feeling a wave of sadness overwhelm her. Doofenshmirtz was bad...therefore, that made him the villain. The monster...but, that didn't mean he wasn't still a human.

Phineas, although feeling bad for the girl, refused to believe that about Doofenshmirtz. "But I don't get it," Phineas said, "Why would a bad-guy want a kid? Tyrants are tyrants, not caretakers."

Schnitzel tried explaining it the best she could. She wasn't the motherly type, not that was even being a mother to Phineas in the first place. But, she was also terrible at giving advice. "Phineas...how old were you when Doofenshmirtz first took over?"

"...Two," Phineas said, pain in his voice, "It was...right after my father left."

Schnitzel looked over to Phineas, who shut his eyes tightly at the vague memory. "Yes," she said, trying to ignore the awkwardness of the situation, "And how old are you?"

"Nine," Phineas answered, as if it were obvious, "I told you that, remember?"

"Yes, but I'm making a point," Schnitzel said, "If that's true, than if we subtract 2 from 9-."

"I fail to see what this has to do with anything," Phineas said dully, but was overlooked.

"-We get 7," Schnitzel finished, "So he's only ruled over the Tri-State Area for 7 years."

"_Only_ 7 years," Phineas asked as if Schnitzel had said an insult and deserved a punch in the face, "It feels like 20! And I'm not even that old!"

"Yes, yes, but how old do you think Doofenshmirtz is," Schnitzel asked, "Is he 7?"

"Wha-no! He looks way older than that!"

"Exactly. That means that he wasn't always an autocrat all his life, and as a result he, possibly, used to be different than he is now."

Phineas opened his mouth to say more but quickly shut his mouth, falling deep into thought. The things that came out of Schnitzel's mouth even shocked her, to be honest. She didn't think that she could sound that logical compared to the young prodigy who seemed smarter than she was. It was humiliating for Schnitzel to admit, but she had to hand it to Phineas, he was pretty crafty.

"I should know," Schnitzel continued, "I grew up with him."

"I don't doubt it," Phineas gave a snarky remark.

Schnitzel stared for a moment before smirking, remembering the day they first met where she belittled his knowledge for being a child. Now he was making fun of her age by calling her old. That deserved a touche right there, but, Schnitzel went on.

"Look, my point is...Doofenshmirtz is like this for a reason we know doesn't justify his actions. Heck, I'm even wondering if what I'm saying is the full, honest truth, or if I'm just spouting a lot of nonsense. But, I knew who Heinz used to be. He was nice, kind, nothing like he is now.

"I hate who he is now, and maybe I can't get the old him back. However, whether I like it or not, he's still a human like me. A living, breathing, being. That should be enough for me to..."

Forgive him? No! She couldn't forgive him! Grr...

"DANG IT," Schnitzel yelled, "Why is it so d*** hard to sympathize over that-? URGH!"

Schnitzel rubbed her face in rage. Phineas reached out to pat her on the back, which she was happy to accept. That, or didn't care. "Okay, look," Phineas said, "I don't understand how, why, or what, but whether your right or not, I still feel...bad for what happened back in that room. I still hate Doofenshmirtz's guts, and I always will, but that doesn't seem to stop me from wanting to figure this out.

"Maybe it's not even sympathy. Maybe it's merely my eagerness to know. But after hearing that his daughter had died...I want to know more than ever now about what happened!"

Schnitzel looked at Phineas, who a look of surprise. Yes, if he did manage to fit the pieces together, he'd figure everything out easily. It didn't change how curious it made her, as well.

She smiled a little. "I highly doubt you'll find anything," Schnitzel said, "The documents I found didn't really give anything away."

"Then there's only one thing for me to do," Phineas stood up and headed for the entrance to the roof.

Schnitzel eyed the boy as he began to leave. "What are you going to do," she asked.

"Something stupid," Phineas answered calmly.

"In other words..."

"I'm going back to that room."

The sound of glass shattering filled the air, as if on cue to the upcoming disaster this would cause.

Ah, crud.

**A/N:**

**Yaay, cliffhangers are fun~! XD  
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**I hope you all enjoyed this wonderific chapter! More to come soon...hopefully...^^;**

**Read and review~! :D**


	15. A Cautionary Tale

**...Is he gone...? This is freaky.**

**...Alright, I think he's gone. For now, I'm gonna be writing this underneath this picnic table in the park. It just rained, so it's a bit muddy. But It's not that bad, if you pretend it's chocolate...*licks mud from hands***

**Danni: *is also under the table* Okay, GTS, that was gross. I bet ya'll just lost ten viewers. -_-**

**I know. I'm sorry. :(**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story, Dr. Alice Schnitzel, Applejack the Pygmy Goat, and Danni Alexandria**_

**Anyways, enjoy! :D (If you're still reading that is...)**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 13: A Cautionary Tale**

Though Phineas was being rather foolish, Schnitzel saw that no form of reasoning could persuade him not to go back into the room where Doofenshmirtz nearly killed him for entering. That was because, she wanted all too badly for him to find out who Vanessa, this girl, really was, and what had happened to her. Doofenshmirtz wouldn't say anything. Politely asking him to spill the beans was out of the question. She should know, she had tried several times that week to get him to say a few things about that room. No, this was there only option.

And, what else was Schnitzel to do but stay on the sidelines and hope for the best? If she got into the mix, there'd be more people hurt than there needed to be. It was selfish and cowardly, she knew that well, but honestly, she felt that it wasn't necessary for her to be involved anyway. Part of her knew things were going to be alright. The other knew that things were going to end horribly, either for Phineas or Doofenshmirtz.

She was concerned for both of them, at the moment.

As Phineas began walking down the corridors, trying to remember which paths he took that lead him to the strange room, Doofenshmirtz was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He hadn't spoken much since Phineas accidentally entered that room, and truth be told it was filling everyone with paranoia. A few slaves lied awake at night, checking to see if Doofenshmirtz was planning anything...oddly enough, nothing happened. But they couldn't rest because they kept waiting for him.

As for Doofenshmirtz...compared to everyone else...he was doing perfectly well! He wasn't really depressed, as much as he was irritated And it was obvious why. If only Peter would stop asking why Doofenshmirtz hasn't really paid much attention to his projects. And Pinky would stop asking why he was practically allowing the Resistance to sneak over radar. And he wished Schnitzel would stop telling him to open up and talk more about what happened!

While he wasn't himself at the time, Peter suggested names for the screen that would make someone go mad if they stared into it for a few seconds. He couldn't decide whether they should call it Hypno-Screen-Inator because it was more identifiable, or Mind-Control-Inator because it rolled off the tongue better. Doofenshmirtz told him under NO circumstances did he care one way or another, and that he had no interest in the silly "project" of his, and the he should not discuss the project considering he wasn't playing any role in this specific scheme in any way, shape, or form!

What was he supposed to tell them? That he used to have a daughter, but she's been dead for years? The last thing he wanted was for everyone to hear the truth, but still assume that it was Doofenshmirtz who killed his own child. What made it more sickening was that, Doofenshmirtz wouldn't be able to blame them for making that assumption. Still, that didn't mean that he'd feel bad if he just so happened to send them to their doom for thinking that anyway.

In the past, far before he took over the Tri-State Area, there had been a few hecklers from time to time that would try to paint Doofenshmirtz as a heartless murderer who made up the whole story to hide his actions. Although those idiots never got an answer, what they said still had Doofenshmirtz wondering. Was he a good father? Or had it really been his fault?

After witnessing the horrifying scene that continued to haunt him from time to time, Doofenshmirtz had gone to see a psychiatrist. As it turned out, therapy didn't really help him. Mainly because some of those trying to "help" him, suggested that he go to a lunatic asylum. All because none of what they were doing helped Doofenshmirtz to fully cope.

So, afterwards, Doofenshmirtz decided to politely screw them all and fine a way to move on, on his own. And as you can see, it only worked for so long.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"AYE! YOU IdIOt! NOt thAt wAY!" Pinky barked at the incompetent panda.

Peter was pushing another dead robot into the repair room for Schnitzel or Phineas to handle. Or thought he was, but instead he was pushing it towards a staircase. The panda-borg didn't even listen to what his leader was saying, much less Doofenshmirtz walking by them. "DOOfEnshmIrtz, SIR," Pinky saluted, but was overlooked.

The leader-ranked Cyborg eyed the dictator as he walked around the corner. "AY, PEtEr," Pinky said, "HAvE YOU nOtIcEd hOw strAngE OUr mAstEr's bEEn ActIng?"

"Uh, nO," Peter said as if it were a question, just before he pushed the Norm-Bot down the stairs. It crashed into the wall, nearly hitting Phineas, who was just walking by.

"Watch where you're pushing that thing," Phineas yelled at Peter angrily before walking over the robot now in pieces, heading up the stairs, and taking the same path Doofenshmirtz took.

"WhAt's hIs prOblEm," Peter asked, earning a slap on the back of the head by Pinky, "OW!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

Phineas had no idea that while he was looking for the room, Doofenshmirtz had already reentered it. He didn't know why, since it had brought painful memories even now. No, wait, that was a lie. He did know why. He came there to think.

No one would come back to this room, right?

Doofenshmirtz wasn't even trying to think of Vanessa. He just needed to go somewhere where he would be alone. Most of what was bothering him was his daughter. The other, more insignificant reason, was that explicit memory. He figured if he thought about that, he'd be too distracted to think about Vanessa...

_**HA!**_

Doofenshmirtz gasped a bit, and shook his head. It had been a long while since he had any voice in his head, besides the one he heard when he was about kill Phineas. But that voice seemed to be logical and a even a bit kind compared to this voice. It sounded so strange, like, it wasn't coming from his head. More like, the voice actually came from...

It was getting late. Maybe he should go and lie down.

_**Why not on the floor then? It'll be much** **faster.**_

There it was again. It sounded so familiar...chillingly so. But then again, it was in his head...right?

**_Oh, I've seen this before! Look to the__ mirror._**

The mirror that was shattered? Doofenshmirtz sighed and decided to turn to the said mirror, and-.

_**BOO!**_

"GAH!"

_**GAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**_

The reflections on each remaining shard of glass laughed. In Doofenshmirtz's voice. But, he wasn't laughing. But...

_**HAHAHAHAHA! Even as a big and mighty tyrant, you get scared of your own reflection? That's hilarious!**_

Doofenshmirtz glared. The reflections did the same. "Who...what, are you," Doofenshmirtz spatted as he walked over to the mirror on the drawer, and slammed his hands on the piece of furniture. The picture bounced slightly at the sudden action.

The reflections snickered, wearing smirks on their faces.

_**Isn't it obvious?**_

They leaned closer as Doofenshmirtz did the same.

_**We're you.**_

Doofenshmirtz's eye widened. Yep, he was definitely on the verge to madness. He said nothing. But the reflections did, breaking out into a mocking mantra:

_**Oh-ho-ho, looks like you are afraid of something! Heinz is afraid of himself! Heinz is afraid of himself!**_

Doofenshmirtz to a step back, away from the mirror, then turned away from the small wall of glass completely. The laughter died down until it had become completely muted. Once Doofenshmirtz turned back to the mirror, the reflections were back to how they should have been. Doofenshmirtz groaned as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. Those doctors, therapists, or whatever were right. He was crazy. Whether he liked it or not.

And it took him till now to see that.

Maybe he did need help after all...on the contrary, that would involve talking about that said memory that he had been trying to avoid. Still, he'd go completely mad if this stayed silent...

He leaned forward, towards the mirror again, as the faces suddenly returned.

_**You're so dense for a logical maniac. Of course, through all you've done, maybe theirs hope for you yet.**_

"Ah, give it a rest!" Doofenshmirtz growled as he grabbed the mirror, tore it from the furniture, and slammed it to the floor.

Doofenshmirtz panted angrily. Then face-palmed when the laughter erupted again. In an attempt to shut it up for good, he slammed his foot on the mirror, several times in order to break it. The giggles and snickers continued, however, and the mirror seemed to be made of too strong material for Doofenshmirtz to destroy completely. Finally, Doofenshmirtz slid the mirror under the bed, now only small, barely audible muffles could be heard.

Doofenshmirtz sighed, then smirked for a few seconds, before he turned to the photo. He twitched when he saw the picture of him push the photographic Vanessa aside, showing only the being who was supposedly the voice in his head. The Doofenshmirtz in the picture gave an unimpressed look.

_**Are you done yet?**_

Doofenshmirtz grabbed the picture, ready to crush it.

_**I wouldn't do that if I were you, mister Daddy.**_

Doofenshmirtz gritted his teeth, his eye growing again.

_**I know you won't dare destroy this picture. It's all the memory you have left of her.**_

"...Who the heck are you," Doofenshmirtz asked.

_**Didn't you listen? I'm you, idiot! I'm just a version of you who only comes to view when you snap like this. A version, that hasn't been around as long as you have. Today's my 12th birthday, and I haven't even had any cake. How rude.**_

"Snap? You mean, I really am-?"

_**Insane? Yep. You are. Glad you see that.**_

Doofenshmirtz gave another piercing look, one that the photo was unaffected by. That's when Doofenshmirtz saw how ridiculous he was being. Intimidate himself? What good would that do?

"...You're a nightmare," Doofenshmirtz whispered in the darkness.

_**Nightmares aren't always real. **_

"That's because you're not real," Doofenshmirtz said, "This is just a bad dream. I must have eaten something weird, or I hit my head on something."

The picture rolled his eyes as Doofenshmirtz crossed his arms.

_**I assure you, I'm as real as you are. I AM you, like I've said twice already. But, you can call me, Meddleshmirtz, to avoid any controversy.**_

Hm...somehow that name sounded oddly familiar.*

"I don't care about your name," Doofenshmirtz exclaimed, "I want to know what you're doing here? And why?"

_**You weren't affected the same way he affected the others. You wouldn't listen to a thing they said! So I had to be born. Not that I wanted to be inside of a marshmallow like you.**_

"What? He? They? Who are you talking about?"

Before he could get an answer, he heard the door open from behind. That snapped him back to reality. Doofenshmirtz looked to see that he hadn't even touched the mirror, or the picture frame. He sighed, not even turning to the person who entered. Somehow, he knew who it was.

_You know why he's here. Tell him already!_

At least it wasn't the irritating voice. But he wanted both voices to leave him alone. His head was hurting...there was only one thing to do.

"Rodney."

**.**

**.**

**.**

After a while, Phineas managed to find the way to the room. He stopped midway when he heard some noises. It was Doofenshmirtz and...someone else. He didn't know. It sounded like Doofenshmirtz, yet it sounded too alien to be him. Was he talking to himself again?

Phineas frowned. Whatever the case, Doofenshmirtz was already in the room. The young boy was about to turn back and leave, but, then, started to think...maybe he would say something now. Phineas would be in big trouble for entering a room where he knew he wasn't aloud in. And further more, during the time the dictator who practically passed that as a law was in the said room.

The young boy let out a deep breath, and walked down the hall. He heard some laughing, then a conversation that seemed too inaudible for him to hear. Then he heard something along the lines of, "...to a thing they said...not that I wanted to be inside of a marshmallow..."

Phineas shrugged it off. It wasn't that important, now that he thought about it. He reached for the knob, not noticing that upon turning it that the voices had stopped all together.

Phineas walked into the room cautiously. He found Doofenshmirtz, standing still and staring off into space. He quietly approached the dictator, and was about to ask his question, but Doofenshmirtz beat him to it.

"Rodney."

Phineas stopped in his place. "What," he asked warily.

"She was murdered by someone named Rodney," Doofenshmirtz replied.

Phineas blinked. He wasn't expecting a quick answer like that. Not that he wasn't grateful that Doofenshmirtz didn't seem angry enough to cause any harm to him like last time. Phineas slowly walked beside Doofenshmirtz, who still didn't care to look at him. Despite this, Phineas could tell that his expression was a dull one.

"...Who..." Phineas began, "Who's Rodney?"

"..." Doofenshmirtz sighed, not sure whether he should tell Phineas of all people or not. He felt so pathetic, so desperate. "He, was...someone I knew...you see...I worked for him for a while. As far as I could remember, he was a crazy maniac who wanted to take over the Tri-State Area-."

"Like you did?"

Doofenshmirtz looked at Phineas with a half-lidded glare. Phineas smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Continue."

"Thank you," Doofenshmirtz gave a quick nod before continuing, "It began around the time Vanessa was about to be born..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"No," Heinz said, sternly._

_"Why not," the bald man with a strangely hilarious voice asked, "This is the break you've been waiting for."_

_"How the heck is taking over several cities going to help me provide for my family?"_

_"...I believe the easier answer would be, 'why wouldn't it?'"_

_"The answer's still no," Heinz said, "I'm not going to build things for you just so you can rise to power. Why are you even asking me? You hate me, remember?"_

_Rodney made the mistake of letting a bit of information slip. "Everyone else I asked turned me down," he admitted._

_Heinz sighed, gently face-palming himself. "Rodney, go home..."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

"So there _was_ a time you weren't after conquest," Phineas said, questioningly.

"Yes," Doofenshmirtz said, bitterly, "Looking back to it now, I'm glad I didn't say yes...that would mean that I would have to share his power with him."

Doofenshmirtz snickered. "And simply killing him would be far from simple, anyway."

Phineas flinched. "Uh...you were saying?"

"Oh, yes," Doofenshmirtz gave a small cough, "Weeks after that conferentation, Rodney seemingly gave up trying to convince me. It was odd. He was a stubborn person, always determined to get his way. Seeing him give up so easily...I, watched my back for a while.

"Then, Vanessa was born..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"She's...she's beautiful," Heinz chuckled a bit, as he held the little girl, who had just stopped crying. As for him, he felt small tears roll down his eyes._

_"What's her name," a nurse asked._

_"...Vanessa."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

Doofenshmirtz seemed to smile at the memory. Phineas stared at the expression, a bit awestruck. He wasn't smirking, or grinning evilly. This was a genuine smile...that was short-lived. Doofenshmirtz slowly frowned, as the memory continued.

"...after that...Charlene, my wife...had already been announced dead."

Phineas's eyes widened in horror. "She...the mother died?"

Doofenshmirtz nodded. "It was a posthumous birth," he said.

"A what," Phineas tilted his head.

"It happens when a child is born and mother dies after," Doofenshmirtz explained, "Apparently, Charlene had a disease that prevented her from giving birth correctly. The doctors couldn't save both. So, we decided to save Vanessa instead..."

Phineas...placed a hand on Doofenshmirtz's arm. The dictator didn't seem to notice.

"After Charlene died," Doofenshmirtz went on, "After they did some tests to see if Vanessa was healthy, I took her home. A few days later, Rodney came back, with the same deal as before. This time, he gave me an impossible choice: help him get what he wanted, or allow my child to die."

"What," Phineas said, surprising himself with his sudden anger, "How could he...why would...did you call the police?"

"It wouldn't have done any good," Doofenshmirtz sighed, "Rodney was a well-known part to the community. He was liked by everyone...except me, of course. I was the only one who knew that he wasn't what he seemed, besides maybe Charlene. Everyone else remained sadly oblivious. Even the authorities."

Phineas looked down sadly, then looked back up to Doofenshmirtz as he continued. "So, I agreed to help him. I built him a few things, -inators I think I called them. He had a nemesis that kept stopping him. I don't remember who he was, but I think he was a wolf. Anyways, five years passed, and I began to see what kind of situation we were really in..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Heinz wasn't an idiot. Truly, he never was. But, he was too busy taking care of Vanessa to let the veiw of his situation sink in until he witnessed his daughter blow out five candle that were on top of a cake. Whether he worked for Rodney or not, this wouldn't protect his daughter at all. This could make things worse._

_Not that anyone would believe him, anyway..._

_So he did the next best thing to getting help..._

_"Hello...yes, I'd like two plane tickets to-."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

"You tried to escape," Phineas said, "Okay, that's understandable. But, that still..."

Phineas stopped himself, piecing everything together on his own. Doofenshmirtz went on anyway. "Rodney managed to find out," he said, "I don't know how, but, he did. And after that, he was pretty pissed off..."

"And, then," Phineas asked, though wasn't sure if he wanted to hear anymore of this.

"He came to our house," Doofenshmirtz said, almost in a whisper, "He came looking for me, I know it...but, found Vanessa instead."

Doofenshmirtz turned away from Phineas, who stared at Doofenshmirtz's back sadly. No, Doofenshmirtz wasn't crying...he wasn't...

"I managed to get to her room...while he was..." Doofenshmirtz trailed off.

"...You saw him kill her," Phineas whispered, hoping Doofenshmirtz didn't hear him.

But he did. Doofenshmirtz must have, because he responded with a nod. "Yes," Doofenshmirtz said, "I did..."

"I hear an and," Phineas said.

"Well, afterwards..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

_The police came in. The neighbors hearing the commotion from their homes had called them, worrying more about the little girl they knew was there instead of Heinz. One of the officers found them in Vanessa's room, and found a horrifying sight..._

_Heinz was holding a dead Vanessa in his arms...while on the ground, was a hammer, and another dead body._

**.**

**.**

**.**

"You killed him," Phineas asked.

"I snapped," Doofenshmirtz explained, "Everything I had was in Vanessa...I loved her so much...and to have that taken from me, like everything else, so easily, I..."

"Doofenshmirtz," Phineas said, "It's...it's okay."

Silence took complete control of the moment. It wasn't an awkward silence, even if it was a bit odd to have been comforted by someone who hated your guts. It was more of a mournful silence. For her.

**A/N:**

***Meddleshmirtz was the name that Doofenshmirtz was originally given. It was his prototype, actually, and carried a majority of his traits. That's why the name sounded "oddly familiar". XD**

**I totally botched this story, now. I apologize for over doing the fluff. :( I also apologize for it being rushed. I'll rewrite this chapter after I finish the story.**

**I hope you like it. :)**


	16. Enigmas, Cornfields, and a Hatch

**Danni: Hey ya'll! Phin-boy nearly found us, so we're hidin' in a nice lookin' abandoned cemetery.**

**...I wanna go back to the chocolate table!**

**Danni: -_-**

**Oh, right, the story, of course. ^^;**

**Today, we're going back to the POVs of Perry and Applejack. Now, you may ask/say: "Their subplot is so darn random; how will it make sense to the story?" Well, this chapter will answer that! :D**

**How? Well, let's just say that we're introducing more characters...:3**

_**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story, Dr. Alice Schnitzel, Applejack the Pygmy Goat, and Danni Alexandria**_

**Enjoy~! :D**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 14: Enigmas, Cornfields, and a Hatch**

After Doofenshmirtz told Phineas-of all people-about his daughter, the whole thing stayed in that little room. Neither of them spoke of the matter again, though Phineas did have to fib to Schnitzel when she asked about it. Although she was unsatisfied at the "fact" that Phineas didn't even manage to get into the room due to it being locked up tight, she left it at that and questioned no further. Doofenshmirtz was back to his evil self, much to everyone's…uh…indifference. Truth be told, it's come so far on the left field for them, they didn't really have any feelings about it.

Phineas and Doofenshmirtz's relationship changed…within a fraction of a centimeter at most. It was a fact that Phineas felt bad for Doofenshmirtz, especially since he knew how it felt to lose a family member. He also knew that it Doofenshmirtz must have gone through worse, since his loss was slightly different. After all, it wasn't just any family member he lost, it was his daughter. But none of that justified the fact that Doofenshmirtz was still a tyrant, taking it out on everyone else.

Yes, it was true that Doofenshmirtz was taking it out on people who deserved it for being so idiotic as to believe that it was he who killed his daughter, and not Rodney. That didn't make his actions right. Bottom line, Phineas still hated Doofenshmirtz with every fiber in his body, it just died down a slight bit.

As for Doofenshmirtz, he had been questioning whatever compelled him to tell Phineas, and not one of his loyal servants. Pinky was definitely trustworthy, since he was the Cyborg General. Schnitzel was (no matter how much Doofenshmirtz _and_ Schnitzel seemed to forget or deny) the closest thing to a friend he ever had, besides Perry the Platypus, despite his hatred towards the agent. Heck had Peter not have been such a stupid disgrace Doofenshmirtz could have trusted him enough with the secret. Instead, he told Phineas, the owner of his nemesis, and the brother of the Resistance leader.

**Repeat:** Doofenshmirtz had told one of his most, practically _the_ most, well kept, forget or be killed secrets to the boy who was affiliated with not one, but two of his enemies…

_HE WAS THE DUMBEST TYRANIC GENIUS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH!_

Of course, Doofenshmirtz had no idea that Phineas, after hearing the story, decided that it would be a bad idea to tell anyone about it. Yes, Schnitzel was far more concerned with Doofenshmirtz's well-being than Phineas, but she was also a blabber-mouth. Schnitzel would have probably screamed out the information to the world had she been told. Phineas could imagine the mockery, and quick death sentences following that, if that were to occur. As far as the red-head was concerned, this was for everyone's own good.

With that in mind, Phineas also didn't want to die at the hands of the dictator. Doofenshmirtz had threatened that if Phineas told anyone about his daughter-even a snippet of information-he would make sure that the boy would forever bear horrid damnation. Phineas had no idea what the word "damnation" even meant, but by the way Doofenshmirtz spoke, he could tell that this was truly the worst thing that the tyrant could do to anyone or thing. So, Phineas _politely_ backed out of the room while swearing to secrecy.

It was pretty safe to say that what had happened to Vanessa would remain a secret and stay that way…but, that didn't close the bill. Not yet.

The death of Doofenshmirtz's daughter explained very little of how he turned into an evil maniac who was mad for power. It could be that it was Rodney's murder that inevitably sparked something, but it was clear that Doofenshmirtz felt terrible for his actions. He was glad that his enemy was dead, and hoped he rotted in-. But Doofenshmirtz, at the time, was more concerned with the fact that he had actually killed someone with his bare hands. A heartless monster that obviously deserved it, correct, but a living, breathing, human being, nonetheless.

Not only that, but some (if they knew the whole story, that is) would claim that to be an act of justice rather than a crime. That would have given the impression that Doofenshmirtz was more of a vigilante than a cruel ruler of less than a quarter of a country.

Before, Phineas would have been satisfied with what he had been told. Now he found himself wondering…what really caused Doofenshmirtz to snap? Whatever the case may have been, Phineas needed to dig deeper.

…But where to begin…?

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Oh, no! No, no, no, no, NO!"

"C'mon, Dr. S, this is crucial. You're the only one who knows where the files are besides Doofenshmirtz, and we both know that he'd never allow someone to look through them."

"Yeah, and I was lucky that Doofus didn't walk in on me while I was looking for them. If I try that again, I'm pretty sure that luck is gonna be jinxed. It'll be the end of you, and it'll be the end of me. But worse of all, it'll be the end of **me**."

"C'mon, it'll be just like last time, only I'll be there to take the blame."

"Hm, tempting…but even if I showed you where the files were, I highly doubt it has the information you need. All I found was that girl's name, the fact that she's dead, and that she's Doof's daughter. Nothing else rings any bells of any kind."

"But-!"

"No buts! Now, scram, I'm very busy."

It wasn't a lie. In fact, Phineas had made the mistake of walking in on her while Schnitzel while she was performing surgery on a fatally ill prisoner, whose life depended on a new lung. Normally Phineas would have fainted at the sight of blood and intestines, but due to the matter of importance, all he could d was keep all eye-contact away from the cut body, and onto Schnitzel, who barely gave Phineas a glance while she was working. Despite Schnitzel's child-like personality, she was serious about some things of her work. When it came to those kinds of things, she wasn't exactly happy that she was being disturbed.

Phineas sighed, realizing that there was no point in convincing Schnitzel any further. "Fine,' he said, "I'll find it on my own."

With that, Phineas turned and left, barely hearing Schnitzel snicker. "Good luck with that," she said with heavily hinted sarcasm that would usually earn her a punch in the face.

Phineas simply ignored Schnitzel, albeit this was because he was used to this reaction from her. Phineas shut the door that lead and exited from the medical room, and let out a groan. Well, that didn't work. Now what?

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Several months ago…_

**Perry's POV**

Oh, it's you again. It's weird that I feel like months have passed since I last saw any of you. Stranger still, I feel like I missed a lot. And I mean a lot.

But, I don't see anything wrong overlooking it. After all, so far my owner's been captured, I'm stuck with a crazy goat, and now we're stranded in Nebraska…what do you mean, "Calm down, Perry"? _I'M PERFECTLY CALM!_

…Sorry, sorry. It's just that…Applejack's driving me crazy…

After he told me to round up the parts of the plane, he left to get some tools and supplies. If I recall, that's where we last left off. However, he came back hours later with nothing but bags of corn…

WE'RE SURROUNDED BY FRICKEN CORN, WHAT WAS THE POINT OF GOING OUT AND-? Urrrrrgh!

Yes! I am stressed beyond belief! What the heck was your first clue?

"Like I said, I'm winging it. I felt like I should come back with something instead of nothing, even if we're not gonna use," Applejack stated.

I will probably never understand the logic that the goat tries so hard to shove in my face. Applejack must have noticed the anger on my face, but ignored it. An uncomfortable silence swept over, though I could care less. I just want to find my owner.

"Okay," Applejack sighed, "I suppose the best thing we can do now is find a way out of this cornfield."

Actually, that was the least anger-causing thing that he'd said so far. What a surprise…

"Alright," I took a deep breath to relieve my anger, "Let's go…"

And so, here we are, venturing through the cornfields. The space was so wide, that I wondered how a farmer could create such a crop. Then again, I'm short and so is Applejack. The world seems bigger than us.

And thus began what seemed more annoying than Doofenshmirtz's schemes before he took over the Tri-State Area, far stranger than Chatroulette, and was, somehow, oddly familiar...

**(~)**

**_Nowhere to go, nothing to see_**

**_Except corn and corn and corn (and you and me)_**

"…Why do villains always tell us their evil schemes? Isn't it more suspenseful to leave us hanging? I'm just saying…"

**_Baked from the heat, where we're going we can't tell_**

**_Getting hot, and hot, and hot as freaking-_**

"…So I took the baseball bat from him and lobbed it in his…"

**_Too lost, no matter, we'll never be missed_**

**_Some may just interpret this as a karmic slap on the wrist,_**

**_But I've just got to say, it's a heck of a day to be us!_**

"…_Yankee doodle went to town_-."

"APPLEJACK!"

"Oh, yeah, random musical number, sorry."

**_It's a heck of a day to not have a car_**

**_And just walk and walk and not know where you are_**

"Wait, what's the point of having a musical number _now_?"

"Honestly…*sigh* She ran out of ideas."

"She who?"

**_We got no kind of a map_**

**_Nothing that shows us the way_**

**_And it's just talk and talk and talk with nothing to say_**

**_It's a heck of a day, a heck of a day to be us!_**

**_It's a heck of a day to be us!_**

"Seriously, Perry, who are you talking about?"

"Ugh…"

**(~)**

It was late at night now. Both of us were tired, and had no idea where we were going, but decided to trudge on anyway. I was slightly impressed with Applejack's stamina, considering his weight. But, that didn't stop him from stopping for breathers.

"Hold up!"

Speak of the devil…

"Gah…huh…hu…wait…hu…fat goat running…ugh…"

After another five minute break, Applejack moved forward again. Such determination…maybe he was from the OWCA. Another division, I'm guessing. I still don't remember having a partner.

Well, except for Wille, but, he was my mentor. That doesn't really count, right?

…Then again, Applejack knew quite a lot about Doofenshmirtz. Whether my nemesis was in some files or not, there wasn't enough information to indicate how the man worked. Applejack acted like he knew the man personally…wait a minute…

The mechanical features…he was there when Phineas and I were in the graveyard, and specifically nabbed me…what if…

He works for…

I turned to Applejack, now walking beside me, wearing a smug smirk as usual…now, suddenly, it became a bit chilling look a-AYAAH!

_CLANK!  
>THUD!<em>

Owowowowowoooooow…what was that? It wasn't grass, or rock…

I look up from the grass to see Applejack, laughing at me. "Nice move," he mocked.

"Shut up," I said, getting myself…up…?

"Platypus," Applejack tilted his head, acting truly confused for once, "Are you o-?"

It was then that he noticed that whatever it was I was standing on…it was definitely _not _grass.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Present-Days Later_

**Normal POV**

"So, let me get this straight…you found them?"

Doofenshmirtz didn't answer, only smiled, rather brighter than usual. That was all the answer Schnitzel needed. "Where," she asked, feeling interested with the topic, "How?"

"If you don't mind me switching the questions," Doofenshmirtz said obviously not caring for whatever Schnitzel thought, "It took many busy nights, and a strand of hair from Candace's little brother."

Schnitzel blinked. "Wait…you, plucked a piece of hair…from Phineas?"

"No, that would be weird," Doofenshmirtz said, "I got Pinky to do it."

"Don't you find that weirder," Schnitzel asked.

"Schnitzel, Pinky's a Cyborg Chihuahua," Doofenshmirtz countered, "I don't think that action changes anything."

"Hm…touché," Schnitzel smirked, waving a finger at the dictator, "So, you used the DNA from Phineas to track Candace down. And wherever Candace is the Resistance is."

"Exactly," Doofenshmirtz said, "Now, as for the first, apparently our assumptions were correct. They snuck out of the Tri-State Area."

"Which state," Schnitzel asked.

"Nothing special," Doofenshmirtz shrugged, "It's Nebraska."

"Nebraska? Why would they be in Nebraska?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Months ago_

**Perry's POV**

"A door hatch," the question sounded more like a realization. After moving some uprooted grass out of the way, I found a handle that looked a lot like a wheel.

Applejack and I glanced at each other and the hatch. Now, there was something you don't see in a cornfield…

**A/N:**

**Next time on Like Father, Like Son, a little introduction of The Resistance! :D**

**This was shorter than usual, and I apologize for that. I'll make it longer next time…or, at least, will try. I can't promise anything. ^^;**

**Anyways, read and review, pleeeaaassse! :DDDDD**


	17. The Resistance

**Here I am, everyone. I have recently (and when I say recently, of course I mean, like, a month ago) returned from the Fine Arts Festival. My human video team and choir team lost by two points. We were close to the Nationals, though! :D Better luck next year, I suppose.**

**On a lighter note, this story has over 40 followers now, and I am really happy about that. :)**

**This chapter is about Perry and Applejack, BTW. It's more serious than their usual appearances, however (not too serious, though. They're the comic relief, after all). This is also the technical debut of The Resistance (I say "technical" because they were mentioned several times before, and they were shown in a flashback of Perry's). :)**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. :)**

_**P.S. Yes, I am still currently hiding from the psychopath known as 2D-Phineas. This is nothing new for me...back when Invader Zim was my favorite show, Zim and Dib tried to kill me. -_-**_

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 15: The Resistance**

**(Perry's POV)**

Applejack and I had been glancing back and forth at each other and the hatch for about ten minutes. You'd do the same if you and a friend (or, in my case, a nuisance) found a metal door leading to who-knows-where. This was the one time that Applejack and I were thinking the same thing. Yes, both of us were hesitant, but there was only one thing to do in a situation like this...

Investigate.

I acted first. I grabbed the wheel-like handle and turned it, the loud squeaking noise from this action making me want to rip my ear-holes out. I was surprised that the door was unlocked, and not at the fact that there was a tunnel leading downward. Leaning there was a red, metal ladder, that looked pretty sturdy. Applejack gave me one more look before he went over and began climbing down the ladder. I followed soon after.

Who knows? Maybe whatever was down there would help us. That, or we'd die horrible deaths from the terrors that lie beneath the ground...eh, it was at least better than being with Applejack for another twenty-four hours.

The lower down we went, the darker it became. It didn't really matter whether we could see or not, since there was only one direction to go to. I was more worried about what was going to happen once we reached the bottom. It wasn't long till I heard some noises...

_"Ow! Watch where you drop that!"_

That voice...it couldn't be...Buford?

_"Uh, sorry about that."_

...Baljeet?

I snapped myself out of my thoughts. I was probably hearing things.

"We're almost theeeeeere," Applejack said in a sing-song voice.

I looked down at him. How could he tell whether or not we were close to reaching the bottom? It was pitch black down here...unless he heard the voices too. Then, that would mean that...

_"Shh, someone's coming! Defense positions!"_

That voice sounded a little new to me. It belonged to a girl, but not Isabella's, or Candace's for that matter.

Applejack stopped, suddenly. "Stay here for a moment," he said calmly, "I've gotta check something."

"Check what," I asked.

He didn't answer. He just kept climbing down the ladder until he reached the floor. I don't know what kept me from following Applejack, considering that I HATED him. I guess I thought that he'd be killed or something. Rather selfish of me, but-.

_"Cease aim."_

My eyes widened. That voice was definitely, without a shadow of a doubt, Candace's. I would have grinned, but was suddenly pulled into immense shock and sudden rage as I heard what my owner's sister had to say...

_"Soldier, what brings you back here? Any news?"_

...You have _got_ to be kidding me.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Applejack's POV)**

HEEEEELLLLLLOOOOO THERE PEEPS! The name's Applejack the Pygmy Goat. Former partner of the panicky platypus known only as Agent P...er, or Perry, of course.

Huh? What? What's my code name? Why, Agent A of course...or is it Agent G...Agent P...G?

What? There were already, like, three Agent P's, I'm not gonna make it four.

Yes, I said it correctly. Hello? Most of the OWCA agents have either been killed or turned into Cyborgs! Why are you looking at me like that? You really thought some of them were spared? You wish!

The OWCA didn't immediately surrender when Doofenshmirtz took over. We fought our hardest. It was the goriest I've ever seen any of the agents go through. But, in the end, we were easily outnumbered by the thousands upon thousands of Norm-Bots.

Several agents were killed, including Chester the Cat. Poor guy was the first to die. I was very surprised to see that Peter was one of those who turned into a Cyborg, what with his clumsiness and such. I suppose turning into your enemy's slave is much more painful than dying at the hands of a hated one.

Then, as I said, there were those who had been turned into Cyborgs. There aren't that many Cyborgs, just about ten at most. There needn't be that much anyway. One Cyborg could take out an entire army of Norm-Bots in a matter of minutes.

Then there are the few who managed to escape. I vaguely remember Perry fighting along side us, then disappearing into a large cloud of dust caused by explosions. I thought he had died until today. You could say that it sort of hurts to see that Perry doesn't even remember me, but I like taking advantage of that.

Pinky the Chihuahua had escaped before, but turned himself in to keep his owner safe. Very noble, but pretty stupid of him if you ask me. I care a lot about my owner, and you don't see me giving myself up to a psychopath who lost his daughter and...okay, seriously, why are you guys staring at me like that? It's freaking the tar out of me.

Who's my owner you ask? Uh...I don't really want to talk about her-it! I don't want to talk about _it_! He-he, yeah...

Another agent who managed to escape was Olive the Otter (Perry's giiiirlfriiiiiiieeeeend, he-he-he). She had managed to escape via jet pack...and left the rest of us behind. The last time I saw her, she had a look of fear that I never saw before. It was after Agent E was killed, I think. She stared at the corpse for five minutes before fleeing for her life...

...The coward...

Other than the ones I've mentioned, I don't know if anyone else managed to get away besides myself.

Now as for how I got away: I nearly got away with my jet-pack...before I got hit by a laser...it hit my head.

I don't know HOW I survived. Maybe I died for a few minutes before being revived by-ACHOO! Sorry if I sneezed on you. It's dustier down here than I remember.

Well, afterwards, I...gave up. I was going to make like Pinky and give myself up. I was doing it out of cowardice like Olive did when she fled and let the rest of us to take the blunt of the battle. Then...I...

_"If you ever talk like that again, I will drop-kick you to the moon-no, no, no, I take that back. I'll drop-kick you to the SUN!"_

...Let's just say I got some advice from an unlikely source.

I found The Resistance a few months later. They had recently moved their base underneath a shack in a cemetery...creepy, but admittedly creative. I had no idea that Perry was owned by the group's leader, Candace, until she explained it to me in private. I think she's a bit on the loopy side, as much as a straight-faced leader can be that is.

And, after getting properly acquainted with The Resistance, I decided to join them.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Perry's POV)**

My jaw probably fell to the floor.

This was just stinking ridiculous. How...how the heck...

"You can come down now," baaed Applejack from below.

...I am going to kill him...

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Applejack's POV)**

No you won't.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Perry's POV)**

...How...how are you doing that?

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Applejack's POV)**

Doing what?

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Perry's POV)**

...

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Normal POV)**

Perry stared at his owner as she explained everything to him. Candace only hoped that Perry understood, but had faith in the secret agent platypus nevertheless. Perry wore a blank face that seemed to indicate that he was drifting into space when in actuality he was paying full attention to what he was told. He was just...shocked.

The Resistance had planned to leave while the Robot Factory was down. Candace figured that Doofenshmirtz would be more preoccupied with fixing his machines than looking for a bunch of kids. But it was more than simply just relocating to a safer place. This was a manner of expanding the Resistance.

It was true that not one member of the Resistance had been killed, but there weren't many of them to begin with. There were around twenty to thirty members at the most. It was a wonder how they stood any chance against Doofenshmirtz and his army of giant robots, and blood-thirsty Cyborgs with such a small army of their own. Then came the idea of regrouping in a totally different area; one where Doofenshmirtz wouldn't think of looking.

So, as ridiculous as it was to hide beneath a cornfield, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

"So, I believe you understand the current situation," Candace said to confirm.

Perry nodded, still wide-eyed. He was still getting over Applejack being a member of the Resistance, and now being told something like this...

...Speaking of Applejack...

"Since you're here," Candace went on, "We need your help to-."

"ACK!"

The members in the room including Candace stared wide-eyed as Perry was strangling Applejack, a look of insane rage on his face. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE A MEMBER OF THE RESISTANCE," Perry chattered.

Applejack tried to pry Perry's hands off his neck. And yet, through all that was happening, Applejack managed to say, "You...never...asked..."

There was a snapping sound inside of Perry's brain as he twitched and growled. Applejack's eyes widened as Perry squeezed tighter. Before Perry could end the goat right then and there, Buford and Isabella managed to split the two apart. Applejack stared at Perry with seeming shock while the platypus thrashed in Buford's, and soon after another member with reddish brown hair, grasp.

"Calm down," Candace ordered as she grabbed Perry from Buford and the girl, "Why were you-?"

"The translator," Dr. Baljeet suddenly interrupted.

Candace looked to the native boy and nodded and glanced to Isabella, who seemed to read her thoughts. The raven-haired girl left the room for a short time before coming back with a familiar looking collar. Perry immediately calmed down at the sight of the item. It was then that Candace set him down, while Isabella walked over to the platypus to put the collar on. Perry noticed the girl pause a bit before she completely fastened it onto the platypus, as well as set the audio to the correct sound.

"There," Isabella said plainly, "It's ready."

"You remember how to use it, I presume," Candace asked.

Perry sighed. "Yes," the platypus smirked a bit at Dr. Baljeet, "Say, this is a lot better than I remember. You've really outdone yourself, Baljeet."

"DR. Baljeet," the foreign boy corrected, earning an eye roll from pretty much everyone in the room.

"Now, as I was saying," Candace said, "Why were you attacking Applejack?"

"Oh, I don't know," Perry started off in a sarcastic tone that melted into obvious anger that had been building up over the course of the journey, "It's not like he's been annoying the crud outta me all fricken day long. It's not like he dragged me all the way here without mentioning that he was your ally. IT'S NOT LIKE HE TOOK ME _HERE _INSTEAD OF DEI SO I COULD SAVE PHINEAS!"

"Wait, what," Candace eyed the platypus and glance a bit at Applejack, who did a casual shrug.

Candace had nearly forgotten about Phineas and Perry during all of this. She had been so busy with trying to overthrow Doofenshmirtz that things like friends and family completely slipped her mind. It didn't make Candace a bad person the least bit. If anything, this proved how stressful of a job it was for her to lead a team against an evil tyrant.

"Don't you dare act innocent," Perry spat at Applejack, "Phineas and I were being chased by Norm-Bots into the graveyards. They knocked me out, and you managed to save me while leaving my owner behind!"

"What were-what was he-," Candace rubbed the bridge of her nose and groaned, "What were you two even doing outside of the house?"

Perry turned to Candace. He didn't know why, but the platypus found himself somewhat angry at Candace as well. Perhaps, if she had stayed with Phineas, none of this had to happen. Phineas would still be here. "Your mother lost her mind after you left," Perry explained in an almost hostile tone, "She took everything out on Phineas..."

Perry felt a bit of pain in his heart when he saw the look of guilt on Candace's face. He went on:

"After a while, Phineas managed to find a tool box that unmistakably belonged to your father-" Perry barely noticed Candace's expression turn to pure horror, "-and found a note signed to him...I don't know what it said, but it was enough to give Phineas the guts to run away from home and take me with him."

Candace said nothing for a while. She seemed to zone out of a few seconds, like she fell into deep thought. After that, Candace looked to Perry. "What did you say happened to Phineas," she asked.

"He was captured by Norm-Bots," Perry said, "I would have been able to get to him, but SOMEBODY-" he glared at Applejack, who didn't seem to be paying attention, "-kept me from doing so!"

"If I hadn't done that, Doofenshmirtz would have probably turned you into a Cyborg," Applejack smirked, knowing that no one but the platypus could understand him, "You're welcome."

"Why you-!"

"Stand down, Perry!"

Perry glared at Applejack before turning back to Candace. "I need to talk to you in private," Candace said before looking at the other members, "Everyone else, return to your duties...and as for you, Applejack..."

Applejack looked to Candace with a blank expression. "...I'll deal with you later," Candace sighed while rubbing her forehead, "Just, go see if Isabella needs your help."

Applejack saluted before galloping off. While Candace's back was turned, the pygmy goat stuck his tongue out at the already irritated platypus, who had the mind to chase down the hoofed creature and tear his horns off, slowly and painfully.

"Don't even think about it," Candace said as she walked ahead of Perry.

Curse the girl for knowing his thoughts, curse her!

The platypus followed Candace into a more secluded part of the underground base. "What do you need to-?"

"I'll tell you once we're certain that no one will hear us," Candace said, "What I am about to tell you is between you and me."

Perry blinked. Somehow, he felt that what Candace was going to tell him would straighten everything, or at least some things, out. Still, there was a nagging feeling inside of the semi-aquatic mammal that couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

The two stopped in a black room that had dimmed lights hanging from the ceiling. Candace looked to Perry, a look of sternness on her face. "Did anyone follow us," she asked.

Perry took a few glances before shaking his head.

"Good," Candace said, "Perry, once we save Phineas-."

"We're going back for him," Perry grinned.

"Of course," Candace nodded, "I'm not leaving my little brother behind. It, might, take a while though..."

Perry's expression flattened. A while? It might have been too late by then if they waited...

"Continuing," Candace went on, "Once we save Phineas, we need to make sure he forgets about looking for our dad."

Perry's eyes widened. "What," he nearly exclaimed, "Why? Phineas has been searching for his father for a year now, and you're telling me he should just give up?"

"Perry, do you know who our father is?"

The question sounded harsh, but to the point. Candace refused to get into a quarrel with her pet. It would be...too weird for her taste. Perry chewed on what he was asked for about a minute.

"...No," Perry answered, "You mother didn't like talking about him, you HATED talking about him, and Phineas...he didn't know anything at all about his father. Why? Is your father some kind of jerk?"

Perry prayed not. If that were the case, then Phineas's searches would have been for nothing. The red-head would be crushed...

"No," Candace practically growled.

Perry looked more confused than ever. "Then...why are you so upset," the platypus asked, "What's so bad about your father that makes you so upset?"

Candace cast Perry a dark look that nearly made the platypus shudder. "Our father is..."

**.**

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**(Perry's POV)**

Alright, let me recap for a moment. First, I learn that Applejack is a member of the Resistance, and didn't tell me until last minute. Then, I learn the reason why they escaped to Nebraska of all places. And finally, I learn who Phineas and Candace's father is...

...You've got to be be fricken kidding me...

**.**

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**(Applejack POV)**

Yeah. I totally knew that all along...

ACK! He's-he's choking me again!

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**.**

**A/N:**

**I...I'm not really happy with this chapter. :( I dunno, I think I might rewrite this one.**

**I don't know what it is, it just feels...unfinished somehow. Rushed. I don't know...I better work on the next chapter so I can feel more satisfied.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter more than I did. Oh, and by the way, we already know who the father is, there's no need to mention it again. -_-**

**And what do you mean, "What does Applejack know about Vanessa"? I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about...*smirk***

**Expect another chapter...sometime this year! 8D (Trust me, that's a more accurate answer with how fast I write this stuff. ^^;)**

**Thank you for reading; now, please do me a HUGE favor and review. Pweeeeaaaaaase? :3**


	18. Anesthetic Use

**Here's another chapter! :D**

**Danni: We had to change hidin' spots. We're in Hawaii...well, not exactly...I mean, I dun' think this is Hawaii.**

**Of course it is, Danni. :3**

**Danni: But...why are we surrounded by snake-beasts that I've only seen in fantasy movies that Buford forces me and Baljeet to go see?**

**I hope you guys like it! **

**Danni: You're just gonna ignore me...you're not gonna explain the absurdity-?**

**I know, some of it may seem a bit random, but looking over the last chapters, don't you think this seems more like a "slice-of-life" kind of story? So, you'd expect random tid-bits like this! XD**

**Alright, enjoy the madness...or whatever...:3**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 16: Anesthetic Use**

It haunted him, to know that the questions didn't leave his brain. Phineas just couldn't wrap his mind around any of it. It kept him up some nights, like he was suffering insomnia. Maybe it was insomnia...he had to check that out with Schnitzel later.

Phineas had always let his kindness get the better of him. He had a tendency to...speak when he wasn't supposed to. It had gotten him into a lot of trouble, in DEI, and in other places. For the sake of others, however, it was worth it.

But, there were times where people would take advantage of his good-nature. As smart and mechanically inclined as he was, he was still as naive as any child would be. He was easily tricked by others who were desperate enough. Before when Perry was still with him, the "mindless" platypus seemed to show some wisdom of who or who not to trust, yet Phineas would help them out anyway. At least then, however, he had some advantage towards those who fooled him; without any guidance, he wasn't sure who to trust anymore.

Phineas had trusted Schnitzel with the secret of his father, and she told Doofenshmirtz right off the bat.

He had trusted Pinky or Peter on occasion, but was easily let down, either by Pinky's loyalty to Doofenshmirtz or Peter's stupidity.

He had even trusted his elder sister, Candace, to return...and look where he was now.

No, Phineas wasn't mad at his sister...well...maybe a little. Maybe if Candace hadn't left, their mom wouldn't have gone insane. There wouldn't be any need of curiosity to search for his father then...or would there? Just for that alone, he shouldn't blame his sister at all for his troubles. But it would be nice if she were still around.

At a younger age, Phineas had always thought that being nice to everyone was the right thing to do. It was at an age where he was completely oblivious to what was truly happening around him. Heck, if he met Doofenshmirtz at that age, he probably would have LIKED him due to his clueless nature. Then Lawrence died, and Phineas suddenly pieced reality together. And then, decided that there was right and wrong in the world, and that the wrong-doers had to be punished to the extreme for having no soul...

...Then he learned about Vanessa and realized that, to his surprise, maybe bad-guys DO have consciences. Maybe they COULD be sympathized over. After all, they are human, aren't they? It's not like Phineas wasn't capable of doing the same...

"...AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

"KEEP IT DOWN! WE'RE TRYING TO SLEEP!"

Phineas covered his mouth. "Sorry," he whispered audibly.

Phineas lied on his uncomfortable bed, staring up at the ceiling.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Heinz stared at the bloody corpse of his daughter, tears forming in his eyes. Yes, both of them. He still had both at the time._

_Oddly enough, they weren't tears of mourning. Yes, he had felt his heart turn to ash as he saw Vanessa being MURDERED by his long-time rival, who had practically gone insane if he were capable of such a thing. Instead, these tears were hot with fury that he had rarely felt back when he was a "good person". What made it worse, was that Rodney was actually MOCKING him with the corpse, treating it...no...her like a doll._

_Something snapped, and Heinz found himself launching himself at Rodney, who fought back furiously. Heinz did everything in his power to make Rodney hurt for what he did to his baby girl. In the end, his adrenaline proved too great for him to handle, and found himself lying on the floor, while Heinz towered over him, his eyes burning with anger that the coward Rodney found intimidating. The murderer, who was so high and mighty before, found himself begging for forgiveness in hopes that Heinz would let him live. Heinz cackled like a mad-man, now holding a tool in his hand that he had put in his white coat he once wore before trading it in for black threads._

_"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Heinz mocked Rodney's voice, "YOU WILL BE!"_

_He rose the wrench up and went to slammed it down on the other's head as hard as he could..._

_And then stopped instantly as the scene spontaneously changed in a blink of an eye. Heinz was no longer in Vanessa's room, but what looked like a workshop that had been hit by a mini-tornado; machines were destroyed, a work table had been flipped, and tools and screws were scattered all over the floor. In Rodney's place was a scared but familiar child, who was trying hard to make himself look small. The two stared at each other before Heinz's expression contorted into a look of sadness and regret._

_He pulled the boy, who flinched in response, close the him, cradling him as he said and repeated as if to make the younger one understand, "Daddy loves you. Daddy's sorry. Daddy won't hurt you. Daddy didn't mean it..."_

_Doofenshmirtz stared almost horrified at the scene, unable to comprehend what was going on. For some reason he was holding a child as if he were his son. Stranger still, that child looked a lot like-._

"HEINZ!"

Doofenshmirtz shot his head up from his desk, hitting Schnitzel in the jaw. The two recoiled in pain, Doofenshmirtz groaning as he grabbed his head with both his hands while Schnitzel rubbed her chin, saying, "Ow, ow, OW!"

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR," Doofenshmirtz found himself saying as he got out of his chair to look at his lowly assistant.

Schnitzel continued to whine in pain like a little child before finding composure. "I'm fine...I'm okay," she told herself as if she had heard nothing that his majesty had said, or simply ignored him all together.

"I'll ask again," Doofenshmirtz sighed, "What were you doing?"

"Hm...oh," Schnitzel chuckled, "I was just coming in for morning briefings when I found you sleeping on you desk. And you looked so cute too."

I know what you're all probably thinking right now: Schnitzel is being an idiot. And you're right. She was.

"What was that?"

No one-and I mean NO ONE-called Doofenshmirtz CUTE.

Doofenshmirtz nearly stuck his face into Schnitzel's angrily. Schnitzel shrunk back wide eyed with a grin that screamed fear. "Nothing," she said, "I take it back."

"That's what I thought," Doofenshmirtz smirked as he pulled back.

Schnitzel blinked. "Sooooo," she said, "Are you going to give me the morning briefing or not?"

"There is no briefing today," Doofenshmirtz simply said as he went back to his chair, "Just go and do your usual duties."

"Aye aye, sir," Schnitzel saluted before turning to leave.

No. Schnitzel was not used to Doofenshmirtz acting so casual as he is now, especially with all the emotional turmoil that she knew he was experiencing since Phineas entered that room. He usually yelled at her, or said some kind of sly remark (that would, effectively, piss her off), or said nothing at all before she left the room. _This_ Doofenshmirtz was obviously an impostor who probably kidnapped the real Doofenshmirtz and threw him in a deep, dark pit...

...or at least that's what he paranoia was telling her as she walked down the hallway to her work place, several other servants and slaves walking past her to get to their work stations.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Dr. Alice Schnitzel wasn't the best medic ever, but she was the best in the Tri-State Area (mainly because she was, currently, the only means of medical help there). It didn't matter that she acted like a mad scientist with the mind of a kid when she operated on her patients, or an easily irritated grown woman when repairing the Cyborgs (mostly Peter, though she admitted she had a bit of a soft spot for him), she always knew exactly what she was doing to the perfect extent, and always knew how to act towards people she worked on. The job gave her purpose far beyond measure. She was considered by everyone (even herself from time to time) that she was an idiot. A moron. A dufus. The list goes on, really.

But when it came to medical professions, Schnitzel was the smarter than any of them. To some extent, at least.

When she got to work, a whole new person seemed to form in her. She went to happy-go-lucky and brash, to completely serious and stern (with a pinch of crazy). It was so different that there were times where she would act similar to Doofenshmirtz, which in a way scared her a little. Much like Phineas, she hated the thought of being equal to someone like Doofenshmirtz. But, there were times where she couldn't care less, usually when she was psychotically enraged. This kind of rage to be shown while she was at work was pretty dangerous at times, or at least could prove painful for the patients.

Some even questioned if she was crazier than Doofenshmirtz...and, as hard as it was to accept, she honestly couldn't blame them...

**.**

**.**

**.**

Schnitzel stretched Phineas's eyelids open, as she shined a small flash light at them. Phineas was sitting on one of the patient beds in the medical room of the building. He had come to Schnitzel in worries of his lack of sleep, which she was willing to diagnose.

"Hm...yep. I think it might be insomnia," Schnitzel said.

Phineas frowned. "You say it so casually..." he mumbled.

Schnitzel removed her hands from the boy's face. Phineas rubbed the eyelids that had been stretched.

"You're not the first I've seen with that problem," Schnitzel smirked, "I've met several others here alone that have trouble sleeping, though admittedly I haven't seen someone your age suffer with that problem. Now, tell me, how long have you been having this trouble?"

"Two weeks," Phineas answered, "Why?"

"There's more than one type of insomnia," Schnitzel explained, "There's Transient Insomnia, which lasts less than a week. Then there's Acute Insomnia that lasts for about a month. And finally, there's Chronic Insomnia which lasts longer than a month and may cause another disorder to occur if not treated. Of course, I can't give you sleeping pills, since you're far too young for that...so we're gonna have to go with knock-out gas as an alternative."

"Knock out gas," Phineas asked with a hint of concern.

"What's the matter," Schnitzel raised an eye brow, "I'm just gonna give you a heavy dose of sleeping gas. How bad can it be?"

"Aren't there any risks involved," Phineas asked, "Like, I dunno, suffocation?"

Schnitzel rolled her eyes. "Doctors use it all the time," she assured, "I've never heard of people dying because of it...of course, it's been years since I've heard from other doctors...but, anyway, I've used sleeping gas on people several times and none of them suffocated."

"Well," Phineas said, "If you say so..."

It was rare for anyone to trust Schnitzel with anything. In fact, many questioned why Doofenshmirtz had trusted her with medical work to begin with. He wanted to keep his slaves alive, right...RIGHT?

Honest answer: no one knew. Not even Schnitzel.

And that's the way he liked it.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"I want answers, Applejack..."

It had been after Candace's conversation that Perry demanded this...and it had been MONTHS before Applejack decided to answer. And STILL Applejack seemed to refuse for one reason or another. Certain things would be kept from the platypus simply to annoy him. This, however, was like something that he refused to tell ANYONE.

The had to have been reason why that dumb goat lied to him, there had to have been. There's no possible way that there wasn't, unless he were completely delusional (which, apparently, he wasn't). That fact was pretty much proven once Applejack acted as if he were hiding something vital. Something that Perry NEEDED to know.

Applejack simply gave Perry a smirk. "In due time, platypus," he said, "In due time...meanwhile, let's get this part of the mission over with."

Perry cringed. "So this is why you live in a graveyard..." he gagged, "That's...rather...disturbing...almost out of a horror musical."

"Horror musical," Applejack asked, "Don't you mean horror movie?"

"No, actually," Perry admitted, "Something about robbing graves, and stealing body parts, seems a lot like a musical that I heard about..."

"Ah, _Repo: The Genetic Opera_," Applejack said in a mock-regal tone, "I think my favorite character from that would be Graverobber...ooh, or Luigi...Maybe even Nathan..."

"You've watched that before," Perry asked in an unimpressed tone.

"Yep. With my owner," Applejack said, then flinched a bit, "Now, let's get this over with...I really wish that Candace paired you up with someone else. You're annoying when you freak out."

"You're annoying, period," Perry retorted.

"I'd say touche, but quite frankly I'm not impressed with the obvious," Applejack said with an eye roll, "Now, c'mon, before someone sees us..."

Perry admitted that Applejack became more tolerable as time passed on, but with remarks from other members of the Resistance, such at Baljeet-my apologies, _Dr._ Baljeet-Buford, or Isabella, who clearly thought of the goat to be a nuisance from time to time themselves, Perry found himself wondering why he was with the pygmy goat in the first place. What kind of mysterious force caused him to be paired up with a lunatic of an animal, who pretty much _dragged_ him all the way to Nebraska for seemingly no good reason other than the fact that the Resistance just HAPPENED to be there? Such things confused the platypus, but, he chose to ignore it most of the time.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Dr. Schnitzel had NO idea what could have gone wrong. She was sure that she had given Phineas sleeping gas. Why was he-_  
><em>

Schnitzel cringed as the giggles rose louder. She face-palmed as Phineas babbled out stupid jokes, like, "Ever heard of the one about the pea pod" or "Why did the rooster cross the road?" or even "Knock-knock! Boo! Don't cry it's just a joke". It was TORTURING her. She check the gas containment unit, glaring as she did. Her eyes widened and dulled in a matter of second.

This wasn't sleeping gas...it was Nitrous Oxide: Laughing gas.

"Oh, c'mon," Schnitzel groaned, "I thought I tossed this out..."

"Did you hear about the one guy in a wheel chair," Phineas laughed.

Schnitzel stared at Phineas, blinking. "How is that supposed to be funny," she asked.

"IT JUST IS," Phineas laughed harder.

Phineas laughed so hard that he rolled off the bed he was lying on. Schnitzel flinched and stared as he landed on the concrete floor with a thud, and continued to laugh even louder. Phineas began spazzing on the floor, giggling as he did. Schnitzel blinked. "Huh...this stuff is more powerful then I thought," she stared at the container with an impressed expression on her face.

"Hee-hee, ZOOOOOOOOOoooooooooMAH!"

Schnitzel rubbed her chin nervously. "Maybe he just has a weird reaction to laughing gas," she thought to herself, "I've NEVER seen anyone act this hyper over a dose of Nitrous Oxide..."

"Yankee doodle went to town," Phineas sang drunkenly, "Riding on a pony~!"

"...Or this insane..." Schnitzel added.

Soon Phineas got back on his feet and began running around the room. Schnitzel soon found herself standing on the hospital bed, trying to stay clear from the hyperactive red-head. She made a mental note never to give the boy laughing gas again, accidental or not. "Phineas, SIT DOWN," Schnitzel ordered out of annoyance, fear, and anger, "You're going to break something!"

Phineas began doing cartwheels while singing to himself out loud. Schnitzel noticed the boy heading toward the wall, but bit her tongue.

"There once was a man from Nantucket! Whose-OOF!"

Just as the woman thought would happen, Phineas crashed into the wall, fell to the ground, and blacked out, twitching from time to time, and minutes later not moving at all (not that this worried Schnitzel or anything). Schnitzel stared at Phineas for ten minutes before carefully getting off the bed and going to check on the boy. She checked his pulse.

"...Yep, he's alive," Schnitzel said, realizing that the boy had actually fallen asleep, "Hm...maybe I should give him this stuff before he goes to bed every night instead..."

Schnitzel thought of the chaos that would wreck if she were to go through with such a thing.

"...Nah, it's not worth it."

The woman picked up the boy, who was heavier than expected. She grunted. "I need to do some exercising once in a while," she said as she walked out of the infirmary.

As she stomped forward, she noticed something bouncing a bit out of Phineas's pocket. She ignored it until it fell to the floor. She groaned before holding Phineas in one arm like a sleeping bag, and going to pick up the item off the ground...

...It was a folded piece of paper.

Schnitzel managed to unfold it with one hand, curiously. "...A letter," she asked, "Hm...Dear Phineas, blah blah blah, hope you're safe, blah blah blah...I love you very much...Your Fa..."

Schnitzel nearly crumpled the note as her pupils shrunk. It was a letter from the kid's FATHER. The guy he had been searching for.

"Hey, Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today...*snore*...Where's Perry," Phineas spoke in his sleep, earning a glance from Schnitzel.

After a while, Schnitzel shrugged, put the letter in her pocket, and carried Phineas off to bed. It wasn't that much of importance after all, right?

...Right?

**A/N:**

**So...WHO'S EXCITED FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER? 8D**

**I'm starting to develop the flashback a little more now. It's weird. Vanessa is Doofenshmirtz's daughter canonically, yet I feel awkward every time I write something with the two of them. Maybe it's because I'm writing Vanessa as a little girl? Oh well.**

**BTW, if the part with Perry and Applejack confuses you, go back to their chapters, and reread/read them.**

**Whelp, I hope you liked it!**

**Danni: GTS, those snake things are comin' closer. I really dun' think this is Hawaii.**

**Of course it is! It says so on the map!**

**Danni:...You're holdin' it upside down.**

**...Oh...hm...it seems we've managed to find ourselves in the Everfree Forest...**

**Danni: But...this is the PnF universe!**

**On the contrary, we're in an AU of the PnF universe.  
><strong>

**Danni: THAT DOESN'T MEAN MY LITTLE PONY HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THIS!**

**It does in my world.**

**Danni: NO IT DON'T!**

**Okay, it doesn't. But who cares? This is an author's note. I can do whatever I want. :3**

**Danni: I wish I were Perry right now. I can at least handle Applejack better than he can. You, however...-_-**

**Anyways, review pwease! Constructive criticism is advised :D**


	19. Point of Views

**This chapter is a little different from the others, but very similar to the drabbles chapter. This chapter, however, does not revolve around random characters that happen to play a specific role in the story. It's about the three central characters of the main plot: Phineas, Dr. D, and Dr. S.**

**After this chapter, I will be continuing and (hopefully) posting a one-shot...that SHOULD have been out on Father's Day! DX But, back to the point, I was hoping that maybe you guys would like to look for it. You don't have to read or review it, exactly...well, yes, I would LIKE for you to read it, but it's your choice alone. Not mine. :3**

**Buuuuut in case you're interested, it's called "A Broken Family", and it should be out by Sunday, more or less.**

**Yes. It's a Father's Day story...but not completely! You see...you know...just wait until it comes out...or PM me about it...yeah...:3**

**And yes, I'm still working on "Ferb's Goodbye: Epic Remake". I haven't forgotten about it.  
><strong>

**Anyways, back to the story! :D**

**ENJOY! XD**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 17: Point of Views**

_(Dr. Schnitzel's POV)_

I met Heinz at school one day. I was about seven or eight, I think. We were both in the same class together, and, no one really cared to talk to us. It wasn't that they HATED us or anything, it was probably because they didn't really care to notice either of us. We didn't really care much about it.

I could say that Heinz was my best friend from the moment I met him. In fact, he was the only person I could consider a friend. Everyone else seemed to turn against me whenever they could:

-One girl, who I had met in kindergarten (can't really remember her name), left me alone in the woods one day while we were heading back home together. I nearly got eaten by bears...it was not fun.

-Another friend, I believe his name was Aloyse Everheart...Rodney. I didn't really like him, and only befriended him because loneliness is, well, lonely. I think Heinz said he knew him too. In fact, Rodney lived in Danville at one point. It's funny...I don't remember ever seeing him there.

-Then there was this one guy at a bar...I don't want to remember that guy. All I wish is that I destroyed his skull with a beer bottle.

Why was I at a bar? No reason. I wasn't drowning out my sorrows because Heinz got married to a woman I hadn't even met, when he CLEARLY should have been with ME...what do you mean I was? WHERE DID YOU GET THAT IDEA?

...Oh...you read chapter 7...clever...

Okay, fine! Let's just assume that I was drowning out my sorrows at a bar because I got jealous over some brunette headed chick. There. I'm freaking pathetic!

All rage aside, though, I don't understand what brought me back here. Sometimes, I wish I stayed back at Gimmelshtump...reminiscing about my life...about Heinz...

And other times...

I'm glad I'm here with him.

I'm glad I make _them_ suffer.

I'm glad I can hear _them_ scream, grovel, and beg for mercy.

I'm glad they're getting exactly what they deserve for the way we've...he's been treated.

I...I lied before...No one ever hated _me_. They just didn't care about my existence. But Heinz...everyone HATED him. They, they...they thought he was...a _monster_.

I didn't know why. He never did anything wrong. I guess, rumors spread, but, it never got to me. Maybe I wasn't paying attention. Maybe I just didn't believe them. In the end, they were...kind of right.

There was always a monster inside of Heinz, at least that's what I think. He was always a little loopy about certain things. I never really understood him, but, to be fair, I don't think he understood me much either. Did you know that when I first met him I licked him?

WHAT? My sister Rosie said it was normal! How was I suppose to know that he'd punch me in the face afterwards?

Hm...maybe that's why he wasn't attracted to me...

Regardless. Heinz was different. No one really accepts that easily. They're afraid of that if anything. I should know, everyone is school ran away from me.

Again, not because they HATE me, but because I was running at them with a dodge-ball...during History class...it was fun.

The first person I remember Doofenshmirtz killing was Roger. I was there, actually. He had invited us over for a "spot of tea", or something. I don't understand. What spot was he talking about?

Whatever the case, I went to get some fresh air; tea just doesn't do it for me. Then, from outside, I heard Heinz say some...strange things. I don't remember his words exactly, but he was definitely threatening Roger, calling him a b****** and such. Then Roger begins to provoke him, as if he called his bluff. I, on the other hand, was beginning to think that something was wrong with Heinz.

I moved away from the house, telling myself "It's just another sibling argument, nothing more". But I couldn't help but wonder, as I felt the wind against my face, that perhaps something was off. I went back inside after an hour...

...and...

**.**

**.**

**.**

_My jaw dropped to the floor right as I entered. The things I saw...the things I could have seen..._

_"H-Heinz, what did you..."_

_The murderer looked up at me, one hand holding a blood-covered envelop opener, the other simply hanging limp. Not broken. Limp. His smile was completely innocent, almost as if he had come back home from the store._

_The question he asked..._

_"Schnitzel, would you please help me with this?"_

_...He made it seem so casual. As if what had happened here was completely normal for a human being to do._

_I stared at him for a moment. Then at Roger, lying on the ground, dead as a door nail. Then back at Heinz, who was smiling calmly, as if he wasn't committing a crime. A smile...I hadn't seen in so long..._

_I sighed, feeling hoarse. "What do you need me to do?"_

_And so, we dragged Roger, his little brother, off to a ditch where he was found months later. I wanted to cry...but I held back my tears, and sucked up some air. This was the doorway to my new life..._

_...And it was going to be a living hell._

**.**

**.**

**.**

After the whole laughing gas fiasco, I put Phineas to bed, swearing never to use any type of gas on him, fearing for the consequences. Just thinking about giving him sleeping gas, and find him sleepwalking through DEI makes me wonder what the kid would be capable of in his sleep. Oh well. At least I got him to snooze.

I was going to Doofenshmirtz's office so I could explain to him why one of his slaves was lying asleep on the job, the note I found still in my pocket. I figured, it probably isn't THAT important to him. It's just paper, after all. It's not like the kid is gonna threaten me or anything.

...Maybe I should give this to Doofenshmirtz...

**.**

**.**

**.**

(Phineas's POV)

...Whoever stole my letter is getting beaten...

...In the face...

...Repeatedly...

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Dr. Doofenshmirtz's POV)**

When I wasn't eating or sleeping, I was usually in my office, working on my, ahem, special project. I'd go out on occasion to see how the repairs for the Robot Factory were progressing. Only one more week, and we can start production. The plan would go accordingly. No mistakes.

There couldn't be any...or it would all fall apart.

Turning everyone insane is a risky move on my part. They may act unpredictably...but, the screens were also made to put them under my total control. If all goes well, I'll have what I want. I'll have completed my goal.

I won't get everything back, but...

Ever since that little twerp known as Phineas entered that room, something had been bothering me. I hear voices. Voices that no one else can hear. I keep seeing a little boy that I've never seen before...and cradle him like he's my child. And then I wake up, glad to have awoken from that horrid nightmare.

Or, was it a dream?

I didn't know. I still don't.

From the beginning I had planned to kill the little brat. Once I turned Perry the Platypus into a Cyborg, he'd be mince meat. It's as plain and simple as that. And then, when I had the chance to do away with him...

I wish I killed him. Then maybe I wouldn't be feeling so conflicting. I hadn't thought much about Va...Vane...my daughter for a while since I took over. I didn't want to remember what happened to her. But I guess I'll never forget about it either.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"Alright. Let's get something straight. I have never acted like a maniac. I have never even HELD a gun in my entire life. And I wasn't even at that bar when the shooting happened._

_"I don't even DRINK for crying out loud! So, if you please, can you leave me be for five minutes? FIVE minutes?"_

_That was just ONE of the things I've been accused of. I admit, I've done terrible things in my life. When I was younger, I stole a few things like apples, even a water gun at some point. With Alice's help and suggestion, I've pranked a couple of my classmates back in third grade. Heck, I even started a food fight...or was that technically Alice...whatever the case, I've done pretty stupid things._

_MURDER is not freaking one of them!_

_And why would I even resort to that? I have a child, for Pete's sake! If I killed someone, the one thing I live for would be taken from me, no questions asked. I'm not an idiot! And I'm certainly NOT A FREAKING MONSTER!_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_WHAT DID I DO?_

_Oh...oh gosh...I KILLED A MAN! I killed...I KILLED RODNEY!_

_I-I, I've gotta...I've...I can't just...my...baby..._

_...What have I done?_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Alright, I can look at weapons without cringing, talk about medical professions again, things like such don't make me sick to my stomach...yes...I can say I've recovered perfectly._

_Since I hadn't been feeling myself lately, Alice has been suggesting that she give me a nickname. I'm pretty sure she was just trying to lighten the mood a bit, but it didn't solve much. Alice said that she couldn't decide whether I should be called "Meddleshmirtz" for the strange assumption that it rolled off the tongue better, or Doofenmoan because it was more identifiable._

_I told her under no certain terms that I did not care one way or another, that I had no interest in the particular "project" of hers, and that she shouldn't speak to me about it any further!_

_I've dealt with hecklers and idiots who try to paint me as some psychotic murderer out to get their children while they sleep and I never really answered their verbal attacks. Yet, now, I find myself questioning something. Something I hadn't really thought about. Had I been saying that I wasn't a monster because I wasn't? Or was I just saying that to hide a problem and shut everyone up about it?_

_Am I really a monster like they say I am...?_

_..._

_Oh, it looks like Roger's inviting me to his house this Thursday...hm..._

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Heinz?"

I snapped out of my thoughts. Schnitzel stood in front of me with a look of indifference. I glared at her. "What do you want," I asked in an irritated tone.

Schnitzel reached into her pocket and handed me a piece of paper. I stared at her. "...Uh..."

"Just take it," Schnitzel sighed, "If you must know it's from that kid's father?"

"...And, you decide to give this to me, because...?"

"Just in case you're interested," Schnitzel shrugged, "I already read it, like, once or twice...also I came to tell you that I accidentally gave Phineas laughing gas, and he hit his head against the wall. I'm pretty sure he's gonna be out for a few hours."

"Wait, huh," I digested what she said, "Schnitzel, I thought you-."

"BYE," Schnitzel departed.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE," I yelled angrily.

She didn't listen...I'm gonna find a way to kill her in her sleep one of these days. Trust me. It's actually harder than it looks. It's not that I can't kill her easily, it's more because I need her around to...What?

NO! I don't like her like that! I hate her! I'd replace her in five seconds if I could, but haven't you noticed that there isn't any other medical professor in the entire Tri-State Area BESIDES her? Further more, I can't just kidnap one from another state, that'd draw too much attention far too soon.

So, yes, in a way, I need her FOR NOW. Not permanently. FOR NOW.

I went back to work, ignoring the piece of paper in the process.

**.**

**.**

**.**

(Phineas's POV)

I had no idea who I hated more at that point: Doofenshmirtz or Schnitzel.

On one hand, Doofenshmirtz had taken over my home, tortured my family, and killed and enslaved thousands of people. He nearly had no soul left in him. He'd be completely heartless if it wasn't for the fact that his deceased daughter seemed to play a part in something.

I busied myself with the question for a while before going back to trying to search, or at least hear from, my father. There wasn't much I could do, trapped in DEI. But...he's still out there...I can feel it, every time I read that...LETTER!

SCHNITZEL!

Schnitzel on the other had had taken something that helped me bare through what I've endured! No! I'm not jumping to conclusions! It couldn't have just fallen on the floor!

...But what if it did? What if someone else found it? WHAT IF IT'S THROWN AWAY BY NOW?

AUGH!

What am I going to do?! What the HECK am I going to do?! If it got into the wrong hands...Doofenshmirtz...no, no, I'm not even gonna think about what Doofenshmirtz would do if he read it!

I'VE GOTTA FIND THAT LETTER!

**.**

**.**

**.**

**_SMACK!_**

_I fell to the floor. My head hurt so bad..._

_"DON'T JUST STAND THERE," mom hissed._

_I didn't say a word. Just got up, and walked away._

_Ever since Candace had gone to...um...I don't know. She never went too deep into detail. Said something about seeing some friends of hers. I always thought it was illegal to make friends._

_Ever since Candace left, mom had been...really crabby. She never smiled. Only frowned. At everything, and everyone. Like she didn't care about anything anymore._

_I didn't blame her, it just...hurt so much._

_A slap was nothing. She had done far worse. And I didn't fight back once. It was only venting...nothing more...she wasn't doing anything wrong._

_So...why am I crying?_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_I took a laser with me just in case something were to go wrong, and took Perry to keep me company. One, if I stayed any longer, my mom would KILL me. Two, and most importantly, to see my father again meant more to me than anything. I didn't remember much about him, but he was very nice and kind. I looked up to him._

_If he couldn't help me now...no one else could. No one else would even care!_

_I've given up on Candace's support completely. I need to find him. I'm going to find him. No matter what the cost!_

_I look down at Perry, who seemed to be...face palming? No. Must be imagining it._**  
><strong>

**A/N:**

**...Hope that wasn't too confusing for ya! :D**

**I'm rushing a tad. I have a lot of things on my plate, you see. I have a writing assignment (in the SUMMER! DX), and other stories I'm writing (on here, and on fiction press). I already told you about some of that in the top AN, so I'm not going too deep into detail...**

**...HOW WAS YOUR FATHER'S DAY? :D**

**I probably should have had this posted DIRECTLY on father's day. I mean, this is a father/son fic. Why the heck didn't I think of that? But no. I decided to work on a loooooooong one-shot instead. I'm not even HALF-WAY DONE with it! DX**

**But, all craziness aside, I hope you all enjoyed. Please, review, fave, or follow. I'll give you cookies if you do~! :3**


	20. Chapter 18 preview

Phineas never knew his father, which was obvious to say. Only vague memories seemed to perpetuate in his subconscious, rather than actual fond ones. The memories couldn't even be considered that, even, seeing as they were blurry images that he could barely indicate. He used to be able to at least tell a few things apart, but that was a year ago. His keen memory had faded at the age of nine, much to his dismay.

His mother and sister never talked about him much. Phineas remembered his mother speak of him in an annoyed tone, usually to his stepfather. Candace, however, seemed to keep nearly everything hidden when it came to her biological father. She only would say how horrible of a man he was, and that Phineas would agree if he met him face-to-face. But, that seemed hard to believe.

In what instance have _you_ been able to look down at a person, whom you've never met, and yet have loved undeniably?

Whatever the case, there were never any leads to who Phineas's father was, nor what he was like. After wondering for so long, Phineas had seemed to give up completely on his searches. After Candace had left, it didn't seem to matter anymore. It...hurt...Phineas found himself wondering if his father had ever loved him, if he was looking for him, or had abandoned his own family.

Weeks after Candace's disappearance, Phineas forced himself to feel nothing. It was easier for him that way, seeing as his mother was treating him like the piece of trash he temporarily thought he was. He went on like that for a while...until...

...He found some bit of hope in a piece of paper.

Now that said piece of paper was missing! Phineas didn't know why it was, but somehow this was all Schnitzel's fault, and once he found her, he was gonna make her wish she bleed to death. Thinking a bit on that, Phineas found himself sounding like...Doofenshmirtz...Phineas shuddered. Then decided to focus all emotion on finding Schnitzel, and finding his father's letter.

He was unaware that the piece of paper was in the possession of Doofenshmirtz, who was the last person he wanted to see looking at it. Not that Doofenshmirtz would have been interested to begin with in such a letter. His work was far more important...For now, seeing as curiosity gets the better of everyone at some point.

Finally, there's Schnitzel, who had a strange feeling that someone was out to kill her, and that she should probably leave the building at some point; preferably as soon as possible. Eventually-in other words, twelve minutes later-after thinking it over, Schnitzel convinced herself that it was nothing but paranoia making her think this way. Ten minutes later, she found herself hiding in the bathroom while Phineas was trying to tear down the door.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Bang, bang, bang_

"Schnitzel, get out of there and face me like the man you are!"

"NO! I wanna live!"

A pause.

"And how dare you compare me to men, you stupid kid!"

"A stupid kid who's gonna break your neck if you don't get out of there!"

A squeak of fear, and then silence.

Phineas growled. "Do we have to do this the easy way, or the hard way?" he asked.

There was no answer, much to the red-head's irritation. After a few minutes, Phineas lost his patience, sighed, and walked away from the door. Schitzel sat in a stall, playing with her fingers nervously before Phineas returned about ten minutes later. Outside the bathroom was a boy holding some kind of small canon that glowed as it readied fire.

"Is that a particle beam canon I hear?" Schnitzel asked loudly from the stall, "Doofenshmirtz is gonna kill you if he finds out you're using his weap-AAH!"

The bathroom door was destroyed upon impact of the powerful beam. Phineas tossed the weapon to the ground and entered the bathroom. There was a dark look on his face that would make Tigger eat honey pots just to get rid of the image. "_Schnitzel_..."

"Gulp..."

**A/N:**

**That's right, everyone! This story is back in action! :D**

**This is just a preview for the next chapter. After I finish the whole thing, I'll get rid of this chapter and post the actual thing. ^_^**

**Note that because this is a preview, I might change a few things to what you see here. But for now, enjoy. :3**

**(The next chapter will be up on 22nd, the 24th, or the 25th of August. GTS signing off! ;D)**


	21. The Letter

**READ! SOPA IS BACK! SPREAD THE WORD! SIGN THE PETITION! HECK, WRITE A FAN FIC AGAINST IT (that's what I plan on doing)! Links as well as more information can be found on deviantart and on Phinabella16's story "Fight"! Hurry! We've only got until September 21st 2013!**

* * *

><p><strong>Okay, so I'm a day late on the deadline. I apologize, guys, I got distracted. ^^;<strong>

**It feels like I'm always saying sorry to you guys for procrastinating on this. I thought I could do it; I thought I could finish this story before Summer's end. Now...I'm...**

**Sigh, never-mind with the negatives and let's get to the point of the matter. After rereading my work, I've finally the time, confidence, and inspiration to write the next chapter for this. I may not finish it this Summer, but I WILL finish it somehow! Just like I finished my writing assignment! :D**

**Hm...I think the only reason why I write things so well and quickly is that there's always a deadline. Just look at "Roses are Red"-I've never written so well in my life! AND I had fun while doing it, despite being in a rush! XD So, perhaps if I make myself a deadline, I'll be able to finish this story...it's a theory, but, it's worth a shot. :)**

**Anyways, since school is drawing near (WHY DID DAD GIVE ME THAT ASSIGNMENT, WHY?! I've WASTED my summer with that stupid thing... T_T), I've decided to devote all of my weekends (that are free) to writing and completing my stories. Usually, I just browse the internet. But since I've completely realized my passion for writing, I think I should focus more on that then other things. I'll still be free to chat, though. :3**

**Anyways, I hope you are all pleased with this chapter...for it will blow your mind...or not...I dunno...BUT YOU'LL LIKE IT! XD**

**I own NOTHING but this story, the OCs presented in it, and *shows a pie* this pie. IT IS MINE, SO YOU BETTER NOT TOUCH! DX But I'll give you guys cookies if you review. :3**

**Enjoy! *begins to eat pie***

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 18: The Letter**

Phineas never knew his father, which was obvious to say. Only vague memories seemed to perpetuate in his subconscious, rather than actual fond ones. The memories couldn't even be considered that, even, seeing as they were blurry images that he could barely indicate. He used to be able to at least tell a few things apart, but that was a year ago. His keen memory had faded at the age of nine, much to his dismay.

His mother and sister never talked about him much. Phineas remembered his mother speak of him in an annoyed tone, usually to his stepfather. Candace, however, seemed to keep nearly everything hidden when it came to her biological father. She only would say how horrible of a man he was, and that Phineas would agree if he met him face-to-face. But, that seemed hard to believe.

In what instance have _you_ been able to look down at a person, whom you've never met, and yet have loved undeniably?

Whatever the case, there were never any leads to who Phineas's father was, nor what he was like. After wondering for so long, Phineas had seemed to give up completely on his searches. After Candace had left, it didn't seem to matter anymore. It...hurt...Phineas found himself wondering if his father had ever loved him, if he was looking for him, or had abandoned his own family.

Weeks after Candace's disappearance, Phineas forced himself to feel nothing. It was easier for him that way, seeing as his mother was treating him like the piece of trash he temporarily thought he was. He went on like that for a while...until...

...He found some bit of hope in a piece of paper.

Now that said piece of paper was missing! Phineas didn't know why it was, but somehow this was all Schnitzel's fault, and once he found her, he was gonna make her wish she bleed to death. Thinking a bit on that, Phineas found himself sounding like...Doofenshmirtz...Phineas shuddered. Then decided to focus all emotion on finding Schnitzel, and finding his father's letter.

He was unaware that the piece of paper was in the possession of Doofenshmirtz, who was the last person he wanted to see looking at it. Not that Doofenshmirtz would have been interested to begin with in such a letter. His work was far more important...For now, seeing as curiosity gets the better of everyone at some point.

Finally, there's Schnitzel, who had a strange feeling that someone was out to kill her, and that she should probably leave the building at some point; preferably as soon as possible. Eventually-in other words, twelve minutes later-after thinking it over, Schnitzel convinced herself that it was nothing but paranoia making her think this way. Ten minutes later, she found herself hiding in the bathroom while Phineas was trying to tear down the door.

Meanwhile, in his office...

**.**

**.**

**.**

Normally when Doofenshmirtz was in his office, he'd be drawing blueprints. Sometimes they'd have purpose, other times it would simply be because he was bored and nothing more. Whenever he happened to leave his blueprints on his desk, alone and untouched, someone would just happen to walk in and look through them. No one dared tear them up; they didn't know how Doofenshmirtz would react if they did, but they didn't want to find out.

Now, however, was different. Doofenshmirtz had spent most of the day deep in thought, reminiscing about the recent events. He hadn't felt this way before, at least not in a long time. It wasn't really remorse as much as it was confusion...and it was all because of Phineas of all people.

Phineas Flynn, little brother of Candace Flynn, who was leader of the very resistance Doofenshmirtz was trying to destroy. The owner of Perry the Platypus, who Doofenshmirtz hated more than even Candace herself. Phineas had been the cause of several mishaps (usually involving the Norm-Bots, but Peter's sudden fear of Phineas rose questions), had actually attempted escape about _three_ times before giving up, and had even fallen comatose during work hours. Who does that?

Then there was what happened a mere few days ago; in his daughter's room. It wasn't Schnitzel who came to see what was going on, though she obviously cared deeply for his well-being, it was Phineas of all people. It didn't seem to matter if Phineas seemed to hate Doofenshmirtz more than anyone else did, Phineas still listened to his story, unlike other people who jumped to the conclusion that he was a murderer before he actually killed someone. As strange as it seemed, besides Schnitzel, who knew him for years, Phineas actually seemed to treat him like an actual human being, despite the hatred that obviously still lingered.

And, honestly, that was the most bothersome thing.

"Okay," Doofenshmirtz sighed, "It's probably nothing I should be worrying about. It's just some stupid kid looking for his..."

Doofenshmirtz looked to the piece of paper on his desk. After a few hours had passed, Phineas's letter slowly began to intrigue him. For whatever reason was beyond Doofenshmirtz, but, it intrigued him nonetheless. Other than the annoying kid's interesting..._personality_...as well as the fact that Phineas was a big link to Perry and Candace, Doofenshmirtz knew nearly nothing about Phineas. He had barely gotten any real information from him, except for what mattered in the terms of Perry the Platypus.

Then there was the kid's father...he had only been curious about it for a few minutes before brushing it off, and that was when Schnitzel first told him about Phineas's search for him. Now, he was getting interested to some bit. After a long pause, Doofenshmirtz took the piece of paper and unfolded it.

"What's the worst that could happen if I read this, anyway?" Doofenshmirtz asked nonchalantly.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Unbeknownst to Doofenshmirtz, at the same time, Phineas had pursued Schnitzel to the bathrooms. He had asked her for the letter, with as much "honey and adoration" as he could possibly give. After Schnitzel refused...that made...Phineas..._kind of_ mad.

_Bang, bang, bang_

"Schnitzel, get out of there and face me like the man you are!"

"NO! I wanna live!"

A pause.

"And how dare you compare me to men, you stupid kid!"

"A 'stupid kid' who's gonna break your neck if you don't get out of there!"

A squeak of fear, and then silence.

Phineas growled. "Do we have to do this the easy way, or the hard way?" he asked.

There was no answer, much to the red-head's irritation. After a few minutes, Phineas lost his patience, sighed, and walked away from the door. Schitzel sat in a stall, playing with her fingers nervously before Phineas returned about ten minutes later. Outside the bathroom was a boy holding some kind of small canon that glowed as it readied fire.

"Is that a particle beam canon I hear?" Schnitzel asked loudly from the stall, "Doofenshmirtz is gonna kill you if he finds out you're using his weap-AAH!"

The bathroom door was destroyed upon impact of the powerful beam. Phineas tossed the weapon to the ground and entered the bathroom. There was a dark look on his face that would make Tigger eat honey pots just to get rid of the image. "_Schnitzel_..."

"Gulp..."

Phineas kicked open the stall Schnitzel was in, earning a scream.

"AAAAAAHHHH! DOOFENSHMIRTZ, HEEEELP!"

Phineas aimed his weapon at Schnitzel, who did her best to move out-of-the-way.

**.**

**.**

**.**

At the sound of the particle beam's impact from his office, Doofenshmirtz's eyes widened. "What the heck was..."

_"AAAAAAHHHH! DOOFENSHMIRTZ, HEEEELP!"_

Doofenshmirtz blinked. And blink. And blinked... "She'll be fine," he deducted as he began to read the letter...

**.**

**.**

**.**

_**Dear Phineas**,_

_With the little time I have left in this house, I write this to you and no one else. I hope you're safe, and that you've reached an age where you can understand _

_all of this properly. Things in Danville are changing; for better, or for worse, I'm not sure. But just know that I love you, and that no matter what happens you _

_have to be strong. When things go wrong, they can only go right again. Remember that for me, okay?_

_And don't worry; we'll all be together again really soon, I know it._

**_Love, your father_**

**.**

**.**

**.**

The letter was written briskly, almost as if the person writing it (Phineas's father, to be blunt) was in a rush. Doofenshmirtz stared at the letter for a moment...

"I..." Doofenshmirtz rubbed his forehead, "...I...wrote...this..."

Wait. What? No, no, no, that wasn't possible! He couldn't have written that letter! As much as he felt that he knew the words so well that he had written them himself, that was nothing but a coincidence.

...Right?

The ground shook, earning another shocked stare from Doofenshmirtz. This time, however, Doofenshmirtz began to lose his patience. Mainly because it was more than just a blast and a shake. It sounded like a floor had torn open. "If it's what I think it is," he sighed, "I'm gonna kill them..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Neither Phineas nor Schnitzel knew how it happened, but all Schnitzel could do was thank the heavens for Phineas's terrible aim. And when she said terrible, she meant terrible. She remembered Phineas aiming the weapon at her _face_, which actually made her life flash before her eyes for a mere few seconds before the weapon slipped and blasted the ground. Somehow, it was enough to tear down the ground beneath Phineas and Schnitzel, and enough to take them with it.

Schnitzel poked her head out of the rubble and coughed. Phineas did the same, shaking off the dust and bits of the flooring he had destroyed as he got out of the pile. He looked up above to see the now destroyed bathroom. "Okay," Phineas said, "Maybe I went a little too far..."

"A LITTLE?" Schnitzel roared, beginning to climb out herself, "YOU TRIED TO _KILL_ ME, YOU CRAZY LITTLE-!"

Schnitzel cut herself off as she saw the young red-head look around the dark room curiously. A look of irritation was on Schnitzel's face, and rightly so. "Huh...where are we?" Phineas asked, "I don't think I've seen this room..."

Schnitzel blinked...or, more-so twitched with sudden fury. "Are you even listening to me?" she asked.

"This isn't like the Chandelier Room, is it?" Phineas asked, looking to Schnitzel as he motioned to the room.

The woman face-palmed, hard enough to leave some redness. "That's what I thought," Schnitzel groaned.

Phineas glared. "Don't ignore me."

"You ignored me first, you little brat," Schnitzel grumbled.

"Do you know how to use a weapon?" Phineas asked, threateningly.

Schnitzel sneered. "Better than you, apparently," she said, "You aimed right at me, and managed to shoot the floor instead!"

Phineas sighed. "Touche," he said, "Now, if you please...?"

Schnitzel looked around the dark room, noting its largeness. She smiled. "Oh, right," Schnitzel said, "Duh! This is Doofenshmirtz's Inventing Room!"

Phineas stared. "His what now?"

Schnitzel slid off the pile and clapped her hands twice. The lights all turned on automatically, revealing several impressively built machinery, whether it be giant lasers, or something along the lines. Phineas's jaw dropped whilst Schnitzel grinned broadly. "This is all of Doofenshmirtz's creations," she stated, "He did all of this...all by himself."

Schnitzel glanced to the boy, who began climbing down the pile with a look of amazement. "What do you think?" she asked.

"This is...I don't know what to..." Phineas stuttered, nearly smiling himself at the amount of technology around him, "There are no words..."

Schnitzel let out a happy sigh of relief. "It's almost comforting," she said, "A lot has changed over the course of the years, but he still loves building."

"He does," Phineas said looking at the machines with gleeful awe, "He really does..."

Schnitzel smirk. Phineas's act of giddiness came to a stop as he heard snickering from the woman behind him. Apparently, Phineas had forgotten that someone else was there during his amazement of it all. Phineas blushed, earning more of a mocking laugh from Schnitzel.

"I never realized how adorable you are until now," Schnitzel said.

Phineas flushed and growled. "I am NOT cute!" he yelled.

"Yes you are," Schnitzel said while adding a "when you're not pissed off, of course" under her breath, "First, you show sympathy and worry for the person you hate the most-"

"I was not sympathetic, nor was I worried about Doofenshmirtz," Phineas stated, "I was merely curious about what was going on with him and his...child..."

Schnitzel rolled her eyes. "Sure," she said sarcastically, "That statement is just as true as you NOT jumping around his inventions with joy."

"Well, I like machinery," Phineas argued, "It's been a while since I saw mechanical objects that weren't Norm-Bots or _Cyborgs_."

Phineas shuddered, eliciting a groan from Schnitzel. "For the last time, he isn't gonna turn you into a Cyborg," she said, "We were just doing that to mess with you."

"Yeah, says you," Phineas said, "I dunno if I can trust you after you took my letter."

"Well, you know what I think," Schnitzel said with a smirk, "You acting all nice and concerned for Doofenshmirtz, as well as admiring his work, means you might have a good case of Stockholm syndrome."

Phineas stared at Schnitzel as if she were crazy. "You're kidding, right?" he asked.

Schnitzel shook her head. "No, I'm not," she said, "You care about Doofenshmirtz, and you know it."

"I do not," Phineas said, "If anything, I feel bad for his kid, not Doofenshmirtz."

Schnitzel crossed her arms. "Well, then," she said, "Tell me exactly what he told you in that room, right here, right now."

Phineas opened his mouth to say something, but then shut his mouth. He did this a few more times before sighing in defeat. "I can't," Phineas said.

"That's because you know how he feels," Schnitzel said haughtily, "You've lost a lot of your family too; both of your dads, your mom, your sister, your brother, even your platypus! And that is exactly why you care about Doofenshmirtz, because seeing him suffer in the same way reminds you of your struggles."

Phineas just stared at the smirking woman. "What?" Schnitzel asked, "Cat got your tongue?"

Phineas gave an irritated chuckle. "Well, I may not be a good shoot," he said, "But I can still break your neck."

Schnitzel rolled her eyes. "Not before I do it to you first, stupid kid," she said.

"Fine then," Phineas said with a smirk, "Bring it, spinster."

"Okay, that's it, c'mere you!" Schnitzel said charging at Phineas.

**A/N:**

**And we end there. :)**

**I hope you guys liked it. This was supposed to be longer, but I procrastinated enough. I hate this timer on my computer. T_T**

**Ah, well. Please read and review! Constructive criticism is advised.**

**-GTS signing off**


	22. The Obvious Truth: Part 1

**Finally...after all these pain-staking weeks, being interrupted by my work by people (I won't state names because I don't want to be mean), and having to deal with this STUPID TIMER ON THE FRIGGIN' COMPUTER, I finally updated this.**

**I hope you all enjoy this latest update! And if you don't, please tell me why. I honest to goodness need constructive criticism.**

**Also, prepare for a trilogy chapter...thingy. That's right; we're finally gonna get to the part where Phineas (and Doofenshmirtz...and Schnitzel) find(s) out the truth! :D**

**And if I read "What truth" on ONE comment, I'm gonna shoot someone. :)**

**Oh, and to those who have commented "Doofenshmirtz is Phineas's father", I don't wanna be mean, but only an ****_idiot_**** wouldn't have seen that coming considering that I made it pretty dang obvious. **

**Let's make this clear, shall we?: The story you're reading-"Like Father, Like Son", that is-isn't about Phineas searching for his father, as much as it's about his relationship with his father (Doofenshmirt). We all know who Phineas's father is, but that doesn't tell you how he's gonna react to Doofenshmirtz being his father; especially given that he _might_ have Stockholm syndrome like Schnitzel said in the previous chapter. At this point, his reaction to the matter could be ANYTHING. He could be angry, he could be scared, heck, he could even be happy JUST because he finally found his father. I don't really care much for the mystery of WHO Phineas's father is unless he's an OC; if otherwise, I focus more on other things.**

**If you're too lazy to read that long paragraph above, then here's a shorter version: **

**I wasn't trying to make Phineas's dad a mystery AT ALL if that's what you were thinking; the summary should have stated that much. If I was, I would probably have been doing a pretty bad job. X'D**

**So, basically, there was no real mystery about that you all craved for from the beginning. If you hate this fan fic, then it's your own fault. Not mine...READ, REVIEW, AND ENJOY! :D**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 19: The Obvious Truth (Part 1)**

_Doofenshmirtz gasped heavily, angrily, completely and utterly..._

_...Oh...oh no..._

_"R-Rodney?"_

_The body didn't move._

_Doofenshmirtz was utterly horrified. He hated Rodney, but not to the point of killing him, even if he...oh, gosh, no! And after he had tried so hard to prove them all wrong about his mental issues! First he loses his daughter, and now..._

_...Wait..._

_What happened after that?_

Now that Doofenshmirtz thought about it really hard, he didn't remember much after...

**.**

**.**

**.**

_So, _Schnitzel thought, _I'm fighting a kid...I'm losing...wow. Heinz was right. I AM weak in a sense!_

_How I hate it when he's-_"UGH!"

A pinned-down Phineas kicked Schnitzel _hard_ in the stomach, completely getting her out of her thoughts. She clutched her stomach, freeing Phineas in the process. Phineas got up and backed away from the now completely enraged Schnitzel, whose anger now seem to rival that of a bull's. "Oh, it is ON now!" Schnitzel said as she got to her feet and ran towards Phineas, tackling into him seconds later.

"Oof!"

The two began rolling across the room like a spinning ball of fury you'd only see in cartoons for comic effect. The two, ending the rolling with a crash, recoiled to the ground, groaning in the process, but immediately brought their attentions back to each other...and then the machine they had crashed into, one that seemed to be flickering on and off.

"...What's that?" Phineas asked, forgetting his anger toward Schnitzel.

"HEY! DON'T TRY TO...oh..." Schnitzel blinked, having just noticed the unidentified machine. "I...I don't know...I've never seen this thing before."

The machine was no doubt the oldest mechanism in the room, what with the rust, the cobwebs, and such. Such an ancient piece of metal had never been seen by her own eyes...at least, not that she could remember. She was very forgetful once in a while. Maybe she had seen it...if only she could...

Phineas got off of the floor and went to investigate the machine. Schnitzel snapped out of her thoughts and said, "Don't touch that! We don't know what it does!"

"Well, I'm gonna find out," Phineas stated rather nonchalantly.

Schnitzel groaned. "You know, you're still not helping your case of being a stupid kid!" she exclaimed.

The next time Phineas nearly gets himself killed, Schnitzel vowed to walk away and never look back. Did he have a secret death wish, she wondered as she recounted his past escape plans, his attempts to seek the truth, and other things that he seemed that seemed rather questionable. In the end, curiosity got the better of Schnitzel as well, as she stood up and went over to the ancient machine as well.

The large mechanism wasn't anything special; just a giant screen, with a mic sticking out of it. There were a few buttons and dials, but it seemed too strange to figure out what they were supposed to do.

"What do you think it is?" Schnitzel asked.

"Hm...maybe a...weapon?" Phineas said questioningly.

"It doesn't have a canon," Schnitzel said, "Or a laser...or...anything, really. It looks like a giant TV, to me. Is this even an inator?"

"A what?"

"It's what I call Doofus' machines," Schnitzel explained, "Like, Destructinator, Juicerinator, Kill-Schnitzelinator..."

"Wait, kill Schnitzel...?"

"We had a...bit of a falling out during that time."

"Oh."

"Yeah...never piss him off."

Phineas rolled his eyes. As if he needed _Schnitzel_ of all people to tell him that obvious piece of advice.

"Well, anyways," Phineas said, "If this is a TV, then what's with the microphone?"

"Hm...I dunno..." Schnitzel said, grabbing the mic, "Maybe it's the remote?"

"What about the buttons?"

"Uh...volume control?"

Phineas shook his head. "Somehow I doubt that."

"Well, what do YOU suppose it is?" Schnitzel asked with utmost mock-politeness.

Phineas hummed to himself, before taking the mic from Schnitzel. Tilting it around, he eventually decided to tap the microphone, and say, "Testing, testing, on-two-three?" a couple of times. When the mic proved inoperable, he went over to investigate the mysterious buttons, despite Schnitzel's facial warnings, such as shaking her head, or trying to find the words when she could simply say "no" at any moment.

"Ugh, what are you-kid you're gonna-oh gosh, we're gonna die!"

"Shut up, will you?" Phineas asked as if it were a reasonable request, "I'm trying to think...hm...I think...THIS is the right button."

_Click_

The screen lit on as the machine suddenly came to life. Although the screen seemed to be completely white at first, it suddenly showed a swirl of colors that Schnitzel was all too familiar with. "KID, **NO**!"

"What? What's wro-?" Phineas was cut off by Schnitzel covering the boy's eyes from the screen, just before he fell into a fit of insanity like the last victim who stared into the screen.

Of course, Schnitzel realized, this must have been the prototype of hypnotic device that Doofenshmirtz showed her weeks ago. But, why was it so...old? Then again, Schnitzel never really asked Doofenshmirtz how long it took...to...

Schnitzel stared at the screen of swirling rainbows, twitching. Phineas removed Schnitzel's hands from his eyes, noticing that she wasn't saying a word. "Uh...Dr. Schnitzel?" Phineas asked.

The screen suddenly turned off, earning Phineas's attention. With only one final glance at the twitching woman, he walked over to the machine in question and began tapping at it with a fist. "Is...is it broken...?" he glanced back at Schnitzel, noticing no reaction whatsoever, "Are YOU broken?"

Schnitzel answered with a twitch, and shudder.

"...Uh...I'll take that as a yes..." Phineas swallowed as he grabbed the mic and spoke through it, "...Hello? Is this thing on?"

"Hello? Is this thing on?"

Phineas turned to Schnitzel, glaring. "Stop that," he said, his mouth away from the mic.

Instead of getting a response like expected, Schnitzel continued her shivering, now almost seeming like she was muttering nonsensical terms like "the cake is a lie" or "hide yo kids", and even "chocolate rain", all of which sometimes ended with a yelp of fear or pain of some kind. Phineas blinked in confusion, and perhaps even fear. "Ooookay..." he cleared his throat and continued working on the mic, "Testing, one, two, three."

"Testing, one, two, three."

And then all seemed silent. Phineas slowly looked back to Schnitzel again, who seemed wall-eyed now. Actually, she seemed a little...happy. Too happy, like a Norm-Bot would seem...as if it weren't real happiness at all. Phineas looked to the mic, and back to Schnitzel. "Uh...Catamaran?" Phineas said into the mic, hesitantly.

"Uh...Catamaran?" Schnitzel repeated, mindlessly trying to imitate the boy's voice.

"Platypus."

"Platypus."

"Cat."

"Cat."

Phineas paused briefly, before grinning mischievously. He cackled a bit into the mic, and Schnitzel copied the sound. He cleared his throat, as did Schnitzel, who even copied the movement. "I love Doofenshmirtz," Phineas said in a mock-girly voice.

"I love Doofenshmirtz," Schnitzel repeated, sounding as romantically maddened as Phineas was trying to make her sound.

"But I'm too stupid to admit it!"

"But I'm too stupid to admit it!"

"Oh, if only I was brave like Phineas was!"

"Oh, if only I was brave like Phineas was!"

Phineas began to laugh, really hard.

"I love Doofenshmirtz so much, I'd do a goofy dance just for him!"

Schnitzel said nothing.

"...Uh...I'd do a goofy dance for him...hello...Schnitzel?"

Schnitzel bowed, her arms bending in a familiar way. Suddenly, she began to do the robot in front of Phineas, acting as stoic as a real robot would. He stared for a moment, before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Ahahahaha! Oh gosh...oh my gosh..." he laughed, "This is hilarious, hahaha!"

"What's going on in here?"

Phineas froze. Doofenshmirtz was standing a few ways behind the dancing woman, his arms crossed, and wearing a glare that, although terrifying to look at, was demanding an explanation. An awkward silence filled the air. "...Uh," Phineas chuckled nervously, "Hey there...Doofenshmirtz..."

Knowing Doofenshmirtz, saying the wrong thing at this point would probably get him angrier than he seemed now; there was no need for mockery this time.

"What did you do to Schnitzel?" Doofenshmirtz asked, irritation rising, "Did you give her caffeine again?"

"What? NO! I learned my lesson," Phineas assured, though he sounded a bit insulted.

"Right, of course you did," Doofenshmirtz responded sarcastically, "Then why is she dancing?"

"I told her to do that," Phineas stated rather nonchalantly.

Doofenshmirtz stared at Phineas, having no faith in the boy's words. "You told her to?" Doofenshmirtz asked, not really impressed by the display.

"Yep." Phineas nodded, "It's true!"

"Do you think I was born yesterday?"

"What? No, no, I'm telling the truth! This machine here made her into a mindless zombie!"

Doofenshmirtz glanced to the machine and then back to Phineas...and then, with wide eyes, stared straight at the old machine in utter shock.

The creation of the hypnotic screens (at least its prototype) had taken place long before Doofenshmirtz took over the Tri-State Area, and was originally made to control the minds of animals. By doing this, Doofenshmirtz theorized that either animals did in fact think like animals, or that the OWCA agents, such as Perry, were genetically altered. The screen would not only hypnotize the animal, but would also scan for its DNA signature, while the mic, as inadvertently demonstrated by Phineas, would be a way of controlling the animal to see if it would react like a human would.

If it would react like a human, such as Schnitzel, it would obey every command; if it reacted like the animal it was, being unable to make the same movements, then the latter would be correct. In fact, the only reason why the machine was considered a prototype was because its effects were temporary, as opposed to something like an off switch. Unfortunately, before Doofenshmirtz could even begin testing it, something in the machine malfunctioned. Unbeknownst to him, although he had his suspicions, a lone, mouse OWCA agent named Montague had stowed away into the machine, and did some rewiring. Although it only seemed to cause the screen's DNA scan to defect, Doofenshmirtz believed that it had truly been destroyed, and gave up the project.

So, naturally, it would have been a huge surprise to see the mechanism fully functional.

"Ooooh, that's how it happened," Doofenshmirtz said, more to himself than to Phineas, who looked only a little confused.

"Don't tell me," Doofenshmirtz said looking to Phineas in a dull-eyed manner, "You tried to kill Schnitzel with one of my weapons for some reason I'll ask about later, then ended up here. You two found this particular machine, got curious, and turned it on. Schnitzel, who knows the effects of this machine, covered your eyes, but was far too stupid to close hers. Then, after Schnitzel became hypnotized, you decided to take advantage of the moment, and your immaturity has led us to where we are now."

Phineas glared. "I wouldn't call it immaturity," he said, "I call it fun."

"Yes, making people do that," Doofenshmirtz pointed to Schnitzel, who was sprawled on the floor, giggling madly, "Is fun."

Phineas rolled his eyes...and then smirked, handing the mic over to Doofenshmirtz. "Don't knock it, till you try it," Phineas said.

Doofenshmirtz stared at Phineas, rather irritably for a moment.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Perry's POV)**

It's been several months now since Phineas was captured, and I had joined the Resistance. It's been quite a burden, having Applejack be my partner in all of this, but, I'm okay with that now. It's all been worth it, considering that we were, finally, taking action. We were finally going to save Phineas.

I'm gonna get my owner back...

"Perry."

I turned to the annoying pygmy goat, who stared at me intently. "Are you absolutely sure about this?" he asked.

I stared at him incredulously. "I've been waiting for months, Applejack," I said, "I'm most definitely sure."

"Look, all I'm saying is that you may be getting ahead of yourself," Applejack said, "In fact, Candace is getting ahead of herself! She's given you a suicide mission!"

"This is coming from you, Mr. Death Wish," I said with an eye roll.

"Okay, so I've nearly gotten us killed once."

I glared.

"Okay, twice."

The look I gave intensified, making the goat a little nervous.

"...A few times?"

I wanted to kill him SO badly...

"Okay, so I nearly got us killed a big majority of the time!" Applejack finally admitted, "Big deal! Do you really think what terrors I brought you are worse than _Doofenshmirtz_?!"

I'm starting to sense a pattern here; when my nemesis isn't mentioned, Applejack's all laid back, easy-going...with a large chunk of annoying attributes that I dare not list out. But when the said dictator IS mentioned, Applejack suddenly gets all nervous, serious, and over all even jumpy. He makes all these excuses for people not to go to DEI for reasons I don't know. The Resistance know what they're getting into, but to have someone like Applejack be nervous about it...wait...

Now that I think about it...does he know something I don't?

"I've said this a million times, Applejack," I sighed, "I need to save my owner."

"..." Applejack shook his head, "There is NO stopping you, is there?"

"Nope."

"You don't even think that Candace is being a little TOO crazy about this?"

"What, no. Why would I think that?"

Applejack stared at me as if I was an idiot. "Yeah..." he said as he began backing away, "Good luck then, bucko."

With that, he walked away, muttering something about how he felt sorry for someone. Stranger still, I could tell that he wasn't talking about me.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_The OWCA used to be a top-notch organization, far beyond others. It was true, they mostly used animal agents, while the humans stood on the sidelines. And yes, their budget was extremely low. And the most truth of it all was that the Major of the organization tended to over react once in a while. But all-in-all, the OWCA was the best there was, despite its strangeness and flaws._

_Perry the Platypus had the honor of becoming the Number 1 Secret Agent of the OWCA, and was very skilled at his job. Many envied him, while others looked up to the point of worshiping him. It wasn't a surprise, then, that he had grown a bit of an...ego, to say the least. So much so that he had preferred to work alone, and refused to get a partner. Of course, when Doofensmirtz took over, he had a sudden change of heart._

_Maybe, just maybe, if he had taken their advice (Monogram's, Carl's, even his mentor's) then maybe...none of this would have had to happen._

_But then again, Major Monogram did tend to overreact a lot. For example..._

_Dr. Alice Schnitzel: a normal, everyday female doctor who was but one of the many who were harped on by the OWCA. It seemed that it had become very...common, per say, for people to be attacked by random animals sporting fedoras. She herself had done NOTHING out of the ordinary, but had done some pretty stupid things to get on the OWCA's bad side. Stupid, yes, but not really illegal. She admitted to herself that the OWCA wasn't the brightest bulb in the ceiling. In fact, if it WERE a bulb, she highly doubted that she would be able to see well._

_Then there were times where she knew nothing of what they were capable of._

_The animal agent that usually went after her was a mere rookie, much to her irritation. Being underestimated THAT much made her think about sexism. Then again...in a sense, this experience, wasn't exactly a bad one. The nemesis she gained taught her how to keep on her toes (to some extent), how to fight back. Plus, it wasn't a crime to talk about her feelings to an animal that would listen, no matter how annoying he would act even during her rambles. It was a strange thing, really; had this been what it was like for Doofenshmirtz, who had a nemesis of his own?_

_But, no. This wasn't a serious, platypus like Perry. This one was a...was a..._

_Goat._

_A pygmy goat, to be precise. __An annoying, nut of a pygmy goat, whom she hated with a burning passion. __Sure, she never liked goats to begin with, but Applejack was probably the worst of them all._

_The words rolled off her tongue, almost automatically, as the said goat left once again after having attacked her for no apparent reason other than to keep her in the line she had always stood on before becoming Doofenshmirtz's "partner"._

_"Curse you, Applejack the Pygmy Goat!"_

**.**

**.**

**.**

Schnitzel groaned. The memory of her former nemesis lingered for only a faint moment after everything suddenly went black. She didn't remember exactly what happened after she had looked into the hypnotic screen, but she did have a_ huge_ head ache.

"Ugh...where am I...what's going-AH!"

Schnitzel clung to the pole of a very, very, very tall building that rested a long ways from DEI; it was the only building taller than the latter. "What the, huh, where...PHINEAS!"

Meanwhile, Phineas and Doofenshmirtz watched Schnitzel freaking out on the said building via large screen from Doofenshmirtz's office. While Schnitzel began swearing her head off, it earned a very amused expression from Doofenshmirtz while Phineas began laughing. "Why is it that torturing Schnitzel is to entertaining?" Phineas asked.

"I think she's like a punching bag," Doofenshmirtz said, "She has the kind of look that makes you want to hurt her no matter the scenario. Of course, her reactions are more of the reason than the former."

_"WHEN I GET DOWN FROM HERE I AM GOING TO ****ING KILL YOU, PHINEAS! DO YOU HERE ME YOU LITTLE *******?! I AM GOING TO ****ING END YOU! BUT NOT BEFORE I HAVE YOUR *** IMPALED BY-"_

The laughter stopped after a while as Phineas frowned in confusion. "What is she even talking about? Half of the things she's saying don't make a whole lot of sense."

Doofenshmirtz looked at Phineas with a smirk. "If I told you, you'd be too scarred to do anything."

"Oh..."

_"-AND THEN I'LL KICK YOUR GUT SO HARD YOUR INTESTINES WILL-"_

The violent threats went on, and the looks of amusement disappeared. In its place were bland stares that Phineas remembered his brother giving all the time. After about thirty minutes, Schnitzel's blind rage caused her to slip off of the building. As Schnitzel screamed in fear, shocked looks were on Phineas and Doofenshmirtz's face before they heard a very faint thud, and what sounded like a soft groan.

"Is...is she okay?" Phineas asked with a pinch of concern.

"I think so..." Doofenshmirtz said almost doubting his answer.

After a long silence, Doofenshmirtz and Phineas both looked at each other, then back to the screen, and then began to laugh hysterically (an action of which would have caused Schnitzel to react very badly, and further her own humiliation and pain).

Ten minutes later, the phone on Doofenshmirtz's desk rang, ceasing the laughter again. Doofenshmirtz answered, "Hello?"

_"Doofenshmirtz, it's me, Schnitzel."_

Doofenshmirtz showed no surprise that Schnitzel showed no signs of suffering from the former action. She had fallen off several buildings before, and had brushed off the incidents like they never happened. Yet, Doofenshmirtz did find it strange that the hints of irritation seemed to be surrounded with bits of shock or concern. "What is it, Schnitzel?"

_"I fell off a building...again..."_

Doofenshmirtz snickered.

_"NOW WHAT'S SO ****-I mean, what's so funny, Doofenshmirtz, he-he?"_

"Nothing, nothing, now, what's the point of-?"

Doofenshmirtz was interrupted by a deep breath from Schnitzel.

_"Okay, you may not believe me when I say this, but after the fall (by the way, tell Phineas that I'm gonna strangle him the next time I see him), I found an entrance to an underground base; I think it's one of the Resistance or OWCA's former bases."_

Doofenshmirtz's expression suddenly became serious, earning a confused look from Phineas. "You...found one? In Danville?"

Phineas blinked. "Wait, found what?" he asked, "What are you talking about?"

Doofenshmirtz didn't answer. In fact, he seemed to act as if he was the only one in the room.

_"I'm just as surprised as you are! I mean, we checked for those everywhere, you, me, the Norm-Bots. Even the Cyborgs were in on it! There's no logical explanation for why the entrance is here, right Doofenshmirtz...right?"_

Doofenshmirtz remained silent as he fell into thought. He would say that this was all just a joke Schnitzel was trying to play, but as deceitful as she was to other people, she'd never lie to him. And as stupid as she was from time to time, she'd never be dumb enough to mistake something for another. Still, it didn't really make any sense. They had checked everywhere for those entrances as they constructed Doofenshmirtz's rule...so if one of them just so happened to be there, then maybe...

...Oh no.

_"Doofenshmirtz? Doofenshmirtz, hello? We checked everywhere for those, right? Why aren't you answering?"_

"...I'll be there momentarily," Doofenshmirtz finally said, "Just stay where you are, and whatever you do: Don't. Touch. Anything."

_"Wait, why are you so...uh...never-mind. As you wish, sir."_

Doofenshmirtz hung up the phone, rubbing his temples. Phineas continued looking utterly perplexed until Doofenshmirtz remembered his presence and glared. "Oh, you're still here?" he asked harshly, "Get out!"

Phineas jumped a bit before holding up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, sheesh..." he said as he walked away and out of the room, giving a curious glance back at Doofenshmirtz who looked like he was trying to figure out what to do.

**A/N:**

**YES! XD**

**Oh, and I should mention that more than one truth is being revealed in this trilogy thingy; some things of which were never even mentioned. So, pay close attention to the flashbacks, especially in part two or three depending on how things go.**

**I know what you're all thinking: this chapter should have been called "Everyone Hates Schnitzel" considering that I emphasized how everyone seems to treat her like a punching bag and all. Also, you might have noticed that Schnitzel and Applejack have a back-story of their own. It's a bit of a hint of the reason of why I made her in the first place. And if it was too obvious, then oh well, I don't care if you state it to the world. But, yes, Schnitzel and Applejack are (or at least used to be, in this case) nemeses like Doofenshmirtz and Perry. However, there are notable differences, which will be explained a bit more in the next chapter.**

**You might also be bothered by the fact that Doofenshmirtz seemed OOC in the chapter. Well, he isn't, in the universe I've created, because EVERYONE is amused by Schnitzel's pain, much like how first dimension Doofenshmirtz's suffering is laughed at by us all. Even enough to put him in a good mood that makes him seem a bit friendly with Phineas (plus, there's still the possibility that he now knows that he's Phineas's father, so...yeah. Lots of mixed feelings there). ^_^**

**Also, after a bit of consideration, I decided that I might bring Ferb into the story. Emphasis on MIGHT. I have a good idea of how it'll work, but I need your guy's opinion. But, instead of doing it via PM, I'm gonna make it into a poll! That's right, I'm gonna make you guys vote whether Ferb should be in the story or not. Why am I making you vote; because the votes may surprise me and you.**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed! Please, review! :D**


	23. The Obvious Truth: Part 2

**Hi everyone! :D**

**I doubt you guys are wondering, and I won't judge that of any of you, but I'm doing very well. Apparently my thoughts for a trilogy chapter didn't go as planned. Instead, this is going to be more like a saga than a trilogy. It'll be about four to six chapters at the least, the reason being that what I have in mind is far too long for merely three chapters, most of which will have flashbacks that do indeed have a point in the story.**

**The reason for these flashbacks is to explain things that can't be explained in present time. If they don't make sense, they are most likely just little tidbits from a character's past, or will probably hold some reverence in the future. But, if that was too obvious for you, then you have the right to slap me HARD in the face. XD**

**I'm glad that a lot of people are enjoying this fan fic! However, I find a lot of humility in the most recent comment (which was written by someone who is obviously a fan of the BEST MOVIE SERIES EVER Star Trek), and I thank her for her opinions. Feel free to give me some constructive criticism, guys. ;)**

**Finally, I have decided to put Ferb in this story. I didn't get five votes as I initially wanted, but I did get at least four, and they all said that they wanted Ferb in it. It won't be now, but it will happen later. I even know exactly what I'm gonna do with him. Muwahahahahaha...**

**Ferb: And now I'm terrified...wait, where am I? How did-?**

**Danni: Git! Now! Before she sees you-!**

**Ah, Ferb, there you are!**

**Danni: DANGIT!**

**Would you like to join us for the author's notes in the mean time? :3**

**Danni: *whispers* No. Don't. Just, run.**

**Ferb: Uh...well...**

***gives puppy dog eyes* Please~?**

**Ferb:...Sigh, well, alright. But only if you don't do anything too drastic to me.**

**Deal.**

**Danni: Is that for the story, or the AN?**

**I'll never tell. :)**

**Danni: Sigh...-_-**

**Anyways, enough of my rambles: here's the next chapter!**

**P/F/P/F**

**Chapter 20: The Obvious Truth (Part 2)**

"You...found one? In Danville?"

Phineas blinked. "Wait, found what?" he asked, "What are you talking about?"

Doofenshmirtz didn't answer. In fact, he seemed to act as if he was the only one in the room. Phineas could only wonder what was going on right now.

"...I'll be there momentarily," Doofenshmirtz finally said, "Just stay where you are, and whatever you do: Don't. Touch. Anything."

Doofenshmirtz hung up the phone, rubbing his temples. Phineas continued looking utterly perplexed until Doofenshmirtz remembered his presence and glared. "Oh, you're still here?" he asked harshly, "Get out!"

Phineas jumped a bit before holding up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay, sheesh..." he said as he walked away and out of the room, giving a curious glance back at Doofenshmirtz who looked like he was trying to figure out what to do.

"What's up with him?" Phineas wondered, "He's not usually this wary...hm..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Applejack's POV)**

Hey. It's me again. Perry's busy getting ready for the "great" rescue of his owner. In less than three days, Phineas would be safe and sound, Perry says. The plan's fool-proof, he says. Candace would never let them down, he says...

That platypus is an idiot. There, I said it. You may hate my guts now for saying that, but it's the full, honest truth. I have very good reasons for saying and believing this. You wanna know why...no? You're just gonna hate on me, then...well I'm gonna tell you anyway! So sit back, this might take a while for it to sink in.

I would have thought that he would have figured it all out by now, considering that he was the top agent at the OWCA. Adding on to that, he was kind of my mentor...not that he remembers that, he-he. Strange. I wonder why anyone would forget about someone as awesome as me?

Oh well. It's not like he tried to forget about little, ole', me.

Anyway, first of all, he hasn't fully understood the risk of all of this, otherwise he'd be thinking this through like he always did. It's ironic, really; when Doofenshmirtz wasn't a real threat, Perry would always think his actions through in a logical manner. Now that he's the dictator of the Tri-State Area, Perry's suddenly Superman, thinking he can handle Doofenshmirtz easily, with or without a fool-proof plan. No repercussions, or comeuppances if any. He actually thinks that everything is going to be just _fine._

I've read enough stories to see where this is going.

I know Perry cares about his owner. A lot. But, he needs to have priorities. At least enough to make sure he doesn't get hurt...what? I'm not worried about him, not at all! I just need him for...something...quit smirking at me!

Second of all, Candace hasn't really been herself since all of this began. I can see her as a nice, teen girl, whose into boys, shopping for clothes...and for some reason has a strong urge to "bust" everyone she can, specifically those related to her and those who are younger than her. I dunno why, I just see that in her. Now she's a bit...crazy.

Straight-faced. But crazy.

Completely, utterly, no denying it, crazy.

You might ask me why she's crazy, considering that she's so over-the-top stern and strict about everything. Well, let me put it like this: she's willing to take risks. All kinds of risks. The safety of the base, her team...her life.

But it wasn't just that. She hates Doofenshmirtz a little too much, in my opinion. Yes, he took over the Tri-State Area, and I can't say that he's my favorite person to be with (considering that he's the scariest person I've ever met), but I wouldn't want him...dead. Especially with the information I know about him; especially since I know she's well aware of the piece of in-tell, too.

My job of the Resistance was to be an analyzer. A spy, of all trades. I hid in the graveyard since I knew no one would find me there. I even set up base there, camouflaged to look like a sort of burial site.

Another member, who I vaguely remember in appearance, had also set up base back in Danville. Unfortunately, no one's gotten any form of communication from him, and no one can track down his base. This doesn't mean that he's been kidnapped by the Norm-Bots, which is a good thing. The bad thing is that it doesn't mean he's alive, either. There's a chance that he is, but it's slim.

I don't know why, but Candace seems...worried. About this one's safety, more than anyone else's. Like she knew him from somewhere...

Anyways, my mission was simple: gather as much information about what Doofenshmirtz was planning to do next. It had been a long time since he had tried to attack the Resistance. And he keeps himself so secure when thinking about it, almost as if he knows I'm watching him. That's one of the many reasons why he scares me so much. _Shudder._

But, it was the constant "stalking" that I managed to happen come across the "Chandelier Room" as I heard so many people call it. I didn't find any machine that happened to be linked to Doofenshmirtz's plans like I had initially thought. The sight, however, was just as horrific.

A wall covered in blood...in a little girl's room...

And then, it all became clear to me what had happened.

...I'm going with him...I'm going with Perry. I need to make sure he doesn't get hurt. I need to know if what information I was given before was correct, and if I'm right for doing this. I need to...take care of something. You wouldn't understand.

Finally, and this is the most important...Perry needs to know something. About Doofenshmirtz. About Phineas. About Candace...especially, about Candace.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Schnitzel stared down into the manhole-like entrance, wide-eyed and full of curiosity. Oh how she wished she could just go down there on her own, but she went against the idea. Whenever she didn't heed any of Doofenshmirtz's warnings, it usually led to her receiving some kind of torment, whether it be from Doofenshmirtz or her foolish actions. And, lately, she had been facing such forms of suffering despite dodging these kinds of situations lately.

All she was thinking, besides the manhole, was how wonderful it was going to be when she killed Phineas.

Then she remembered that Phineas was a bit too intimidating to face, despite being a "stupid kid", and despite Phineas being so frail compared to other boys his age. Then again, Phineas used mechanical ingenuity more than body strength, and to add insult to injury, Schnitzel herself was also frail for a woman her age.

She groaned, feeling bored. How long had she been waiting for Doofus to arrive? An hour? Perhaps she overreacted a little, but, it felt like it.

She hummed to herself before grabbing a small pebble and dropping it into the manhole, curious to see how deep down she and Doofenshmirtz would have to climb. Instead of hearing the rock land, she heard an inhuman growl from below, which was loud enough to shake the ground. Schnitzel shrieked, and leaped to her feet in shock. "What the-?"

"Schnitzel."

The woman turned to Doofenshmirtz, who had just arrived. Behind him were two Norm-Bots, who undoubtedly were used as a form of transportation and bodyguards of some sort. Not that Doofenshmirtz even needed bodyguards, Schnitzel thought. Once, whilst his faithful Norm-Bots bit the dust because of a riot, Doofenshmirtz manage to kill the leader, who was probably twice his size. While the leader had to use weaponry he happened to find to destroy the Norm-Bots, which took about two hours to do even with the help of his fellow rioters, Doofenshmirtz had to simply flip him, and snap his neck, which only took a few seconds.

Schnitzel, surprisingly calm at the memory, simply sighed. People of Doofenshmirtz family were fairly strong. So strong, in fact, that people began to agree that "only a Doofenshmirtz could kill a Doofenshmirtz." That was a known fact in Gimmelshtump Drusselstien...

...Then memories of Roger's death flooded back into her mind.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Schnitzel watched her oldest friend's insanity escalate over the years after helping him hide the body of his brother. The news of the disappearance of Mayor Roger Doofenshmirtz had been a big topic on news papers, news channels, anything that Schnitzel tried hard to destroy just to get rid of the images of the corpse. She never really liked Roger; no one in the school back in Gimmelshtump really did, considering that he acted like he was too good to be friends with them. But there would be times where she would tolerate him at the least. And she certainly had enough tolerance to defenestrate the idea of KILLING him._

_Doofenshmirtz on the other hand actually had the ability to do so from the beginning._

_It began when they were children, where Heinz would angrily state that he was going to kill his little brother for a whole list of troubles that roger had caused. At the time, the idea would have been a "good" solution, but no one really thought that Heinz meant a word. After all, siblings told the younger that all the time. But, then again, they never knew Heinz like Alice did._

_Alice didn't remember the last time Heinz lied. If he ever did, he did so in a way that made it ambiguous to the meaning. What made all of this bothersome was the fact that he had been that way since he knew how to talk. He kept telling Alice that "Doofenshmirtz's never lie" whenever she wouldn't believe him during one of their discussions. And of course Heinz was truthful about that too, considering that one of the most annoying attributes about Roger was that he was brutally honest with his opinions._

_Another thing about Heinz was that he was, Alice was sure of, afraid of nearly nothing. He had stared death in the faith several times, and either gave a completely stoic look, or a death glare. When he was younger, it was different of course. Heinz used to be as cowardly as any child would be. Of course, this seemed to change years later when he was thirteen, just a few months after he returned from being raised by ocelots._

_Being honest with every word meant that he wouldn't lie about killing someone._

_And being almost nearly fearless would mean that he wasn't really afraid of what the laws said about murder._

_So, unlike everyone else, for a moment, Alice would take those death threats seriously. Sometimes, she'd lie awake at night, worrying about what went on in Heinz's head. She liked to think that Heinz did the same for her, but as she got older, she rolled her eyes at the thought. She also began rolling her eyes at the thought of Heinz actually killing someone, least of all his brother._

_When it happened, though, Schnitzel couldn't help but blame herself. She kept on begging the bloody corpse for forgiveness for not preventing the death sooner. She cried in front of their parents when they stated how worried they were for their lost son, but knew for sure that he would come back. But what horrified her the most was when she and Heinz were being questioned by investigators._

_It wasn't even the fact that they were questioning her. If you hadn't noticed, she was probably one of the best liars out there. It was when Heinz lied to the investigators._

_Heinz. Lied._

_Those two words, together in a sentence, was enough to make Schnitzel feel the most concern than she had ever felt. It was enough to make her feel nervous about lying herself, and nearly even gave herself away. But the dark look Heinz cast her made her lie almost perfectly. That very night, Schnitzel didn't get a wink of sleep._

_After what happened, Schnitzel hoped that everything was over, and that she could pretend that her involvement was no more than a bad dream; but then he killed his own parents after they had gone too far..._

_They had deserved to die, there was no denying that to the point where even Schnitzel decided it was time to take action. The reason for Doofenshmirtz coming to terms that they MUST die, was a simple fact that they had planned to commit a crime that would have put us all in danger: terrorism. It was an act of revenge for Roger, since both parents believed (out of pure racism) that an American had killed him. Of course, a lot of other Drusselstien immigrant were in on it too, but there was no doubt in Doofenshmirtz or Schnitzel's minds that Heinz's father was behind all of it._

_It had worried both of them, knowing the aftermaths of theses kind of events would almost always lead to war. In times like these, anything was an option. Even the most violent or desperate of things. It ended quickly, and no one really found out what had happened except for Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel. The deaths weren't even investigated. Thanks to Schnitzel's medical knowledge, she somehow made it seem that they were killed by each other. Even Doofenshmirtz was impressed, though when Schnitzel pressed on about it, she earned a death glare that gave her nightmares far worse than those she had of his brother's death._

_It was memories like these that flooded Schnitzel's mind. She couldn't remember anything else, even if she wanted to. Admittedly, although most of the memories were bad, there were times where these chaotic events were enjoyable. Most likely it was because of her growing insanity that she learned to enjoy the memories._

_And then came another piece to this dance with the devil himself, in the form of a young girl. Schnitzel didn't know what compelled Doofenshmirtz to get a child involved, least likely a girl. It especially confused her when she learned that Doofenshmirtz had a daughter who had died years ago waaaaaay before all of this began (seriously, how could someone like _**Doofenshmirtz**_ get hitched before her?). However, there was something that the girl was capable of that Doofenshmirtz needed her for._

_She happened to have similar skills to the Firestorm Girls, a troop that were a part of The Resistance. If she managed to join there troop...ooh, how easy it would be to take those bratty kids down from the inside! But then the girl had a change of heart. She became too loyal to the Firestorm Girls leader, a young Jewish girl who Pinky had very mixed feelings for. Schnitzel assumed that it was the fact that Pinky had never attacked a girl before, but Doofenshmirtz determined that it was something much deeper than that._

_Unfortunately, the girl who "feigned" being a member of the Firestorm Girls never lived to see another day after her betrayal...but, her pet did. And since then, he had grown quite bitter, in strange but rather dangerous ways. Not toward Doofenshmirtz, but to Schnitzel, of all people. And the reason was obvious for all who knew what actually happened._

_But not the pet, who didn't seem to remember anything at all. All he knew was that he hated Schnitzel, and feared Doofenshmirtz, more than anything._

**.**

**.**

**.**

Schnitzel was brought out of her thoughts by a mere snap of fingers. "Huh, wha-?"

"You didn't listen to a word I said, did you?" Doofenshmirtz asked with a glare.

"Uh...what was that?"

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eyes. "I was saying that since the man-hole is too small for the Norm-Bots to fit, we're going to have to traverse it on our own," he explained, "The reasons of them accompanying me to begin with are simply to make sure no one else finds this entrance. If anyone other than you or I figure out that there's a hidden base here, they may use it to their advantage against us."

Schnitzel gave a half-lidded stare. "And when you say 'us', you mean 'you', right?"

"Exactly," Doofenshmirtz smirked, "Glad you see things my way. Now, let's get going."

Schnitzel frowned. "But, if the Norm-Bots don't come with us, we...er...I won't have any protection."

Doofenshmirtz eyed Schnitzel. The brunette woman groaned. "Oh, honestly, do you think YOU need protection?!" she asked.

"Good point," Doofenshmirtz said, but turned away with a wave of a hand, "But I don't really care. I doubt anyone is even in there right now, if it's as old as I hope it is."

The medical professional eyed the dictator curiously. "As old as you-?" Schnitzel's eyes widened. That noise she heard before...

"Uh, Doofenshmirtz, there's something you need to-"

Doofenshmirtz gave one of his infamous death glares. "Look, I don't have time for this," he said, "Whatever's down there needs to be found and destroyed immediately. Now, c'mon!"

Schnitzel stared for a moment as Doofenshmirtz disappeared down the hole. She looked back to the Norm-Bots, who had their backs turned to her. She looked to the man-hole, thinking of the strange, monstrous sounds that caused the ground to shake before. Maybe...it was probably in her head.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Schnitzel called as she followed Doofenshmirtz down the man-hole, unaware of one of the Norm-Bots removing its head.

**.**

**.**

**.**

There was no denying that Phineas's curiosity had gotten him in near-death situations several times in his life. Had he ever learned his lesson from this?

...No...no he didn't.

So of course he followed Doofenshmirtz to the secret entrance to see what was going on. Considering that whatever was causing Doofenshmirtz some bit of worry could in turn help Phineas in some kind of way. Yes, it sounded very selfish of him, but given that he had thought of so much kindness for the person who had not only ruined his life, but caused him several forms of physical and mental torment, the guilt was limited.

The way he did it though draws back to his job working with the Norm-Bots. As far as the residence of Danville knew, the Norm-Bots were divided into two groups; one group was the intelligent ones who were in charge of rebuilding anything that was damaged, and were more defensive than offensive. The other group were the stupid but strong Norm-Bots who were mostly seen searching through the town, chasing down citizens, guarding prisons, etc.

However, there was a third kind of Norm-Bot that had been put on hold, if not given up on completely. Back when Phineas had been looking through blueprints only to see fake ones of him being turned into a Cyborg, he happened to find blueprints for the said group. It was just like the second group, but it also worked more like a battle suit, if you will. Anyone small enough could crawl in and control it; and Phineas happened to be small enough. He managed to copy the blueprints and had "rebuilt" some of the destroyed Norm-Bots, at least one or two that is, into this third group. The Norm-Bot had a mind of it's own like any other Norm-Bot, but Phineas could very easily turn it off with a push of a button and sneak into it.

And so, removing its head was none other than one of those said robots, and out came Phineas, who had every intention of following Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Perry's POV)**

After months of doing nothing but study the blueprints of DEI (which Candace happened to have, courtesy of Applejack; how he managed to get them, I will never know), and doing missions that had to do with the Resistance, I finally had a fool-proof plan of entering DEI without so much of a scratch on me. It was a stupid idea to enter through the main entrance, whether it be day or night. It wasn't smart doing an aerial route either, since Norm-Bots and Cyborgs can fly. However, as crafty as Doofenshmirtz has become, he forgot one major detail to his base that could as easily cause its downfall: it was vulnerable underground.

Out of all the protection, the heavy planning, and all other things that had to be done on Doofenshmirtz's part for DEI to be an impenetrable force, he had failed to do it completely. Best of all, the Resistance just so happened to have finished building a particular machine for this kind type of situation, and I was given the honors to commandeer it. All apart of the master plan Candace had made.

I would enter from underground. Most likely, Doofenshmirtz would be too busy handling me than to pay any attention to the Resistance. They'd enter, and take him down from there. Easy enough...except for one thing...

"You're coming with me?!"

Having Applejack oh-so suddenly asking me if he could tag along on my mission to not only save my owner, but the Tri-State Area, was _not_ exactly what I had in mind. Do I even need to explain, or are you a speed reader who happens to miss details and happens to be proud of it?

The goat nodded indignantly. "I have gone too far in annoying you to have you kill yourself." Applejack stated, "Besides, I need to take care of some things that concern...look, let's just get ready."

I eyed him, crossing my arms as I did. "This is a little out of character," I said, "One minute, you act like the annoying nuisance you always are, tell me I can't handle my own nemesis, and walk away like I'm crazy. Now, you suddenly want to accompany me. Not only that, but...you're being serious. Is that possible for you?"

"Shut up! I know when to get serious," Applejack claimed (I wouldn't believe him even if he had 'proof').

"Yeah, sure," I nod sarcastically, "Now, the thing of your concern. I'd like to know of this "mission" of yours. What exactly would you have to gain from confronting Doofenshmirtz? Not only are you terrified of him, but you've been trying to get me to avoid him all this time."

Applejack turned away, completely silent for a moment. I was utterly confused, since he never really gave me an answer even when he broke all quietness. "It's none of your business," he huffed, "Honestly, my reasons have nothing to do with yours."

"I get that," I rolled my eyes, "But, it must be a good one if it gets you to go to DEI."

"I get the cut of your jib," Applejack said, "But, can we stop yappin' and get to it already? I need to see Schnitzel."

He flinched, hoping I hadn't heard the last part of his ramble. But, to his horror... "Who?"

"Uh...not important. Let's go."

He jumped into the machine. It was a giant hole driller, which was placed in the lower parts of the already underground base to avoid from it caving in. Which led to me asking: how deep was this secret base?!

"I call driver's seat!"

My eyes widened as I saw Applejack sitting at the wheel. I can see the plane incident happening all over again...

"OH NO! You are riding shot-gun, and that is that!"

What took three minutes won me victory that sufficed for the journey. Thank you again paranoia. You've saved me from fearing underground passages as much as flying.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Grrrrr..._

Schnitzel jumped again, earning another sigh from Doofenshmirtz, who was getting pretty annoyed. "Will you calm down already?" he asked, "We haven't seen anything yet, and you're shaking like a leaf."

"Do you hear that?" Schnitzel asked softly as her eyes widened in fear, "I think there's something in here. It sounds big and scary."

"If there was something 'big and scary' then we'd see traces of it, wouldn't we?" Doofenshmirtz asked, "The only thing I'm worried about is how new this base is."

The base so far was nothing more than a bunch of halls and corridors, but with halls were doors somewhere. Doors that lead to what Doofenshmirtz was looking for. Schnitzel on the other hand was paying more attention to the inhuman sounds that she was hearing. Didn't Doofenshmirtz hear them too? Or was he ignoring them. Maybe it was just the wind? But, they were underground. There is no wind underground...unless it was ventilation.

"Doofenshmirtz," Schnitzel began, "Why is there a...breeze?"

"Vents," Doofenshmirtz answered, "Which could mean that someone is in here, or left to make us worry for nothing. Whatever the case may be, this place is definitely new. The metal walls aren't rusted enough, if at all. And if there were dust here, you'd be sneezing your head off."

Schnitzel had to agree, her nose was pretty sensitive like that. "But, why are you so worried about there being someone here?" she asked.

Doofenshmirtz looked to Schnitzel with a sort of look that seemed calm but had a secret. "I never caught all the OWCA members, Schnitzel."

The woman was taken aback. "...What?" Schnitzel blinked, "You...but I thought it was just Perry and-"

"More of the agents had escaped as well," Doofenshmirtz said, "At first I didn't even know, until I realized how small of a number of bodies had been found. At least five to ten agents had escaped along with Perry the Platypus, possibly in a secret entrance. This could be the place where it led to, but..." Doofenshmirtz paused as he looked to two other paths as their current one ended, "It's too new. So that would mean that someone had snuck through the town and created this place overnight."

Schnitzel gulped a bit, piecing together what she had been told. "You said 'someone', Doofenshmirtz. That doesn't exactly mean-"

"That's because it might not have been an agent," Doofenshmirtz interrupted, "It could have been a member of Resistance, or even..."

"...You think Monogram is alive, don't you?" Schnitzel realized.

"There's no mistake about it," Doofenshmirtz said, "Monogram is just way too crafty to have died that easily. And his intern; we couldn't even find his body, let alone Monogram's. And doesn't this place look a lot like-"

"The OWCA corridors," Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel finished in unison.

"Okay, so you got that going for you," Schnitzel said with a nod, "But, we blew up the OWCA. Some of the bodies could have been buried or burned along with the building, right?"

"We still would have found traces of them," Doofenshmirtz said, "We didn't, though. And that means that there's a chance that they could be still alive. That will cause major problems to my plans. If it were just an agent or Resistance member, or even a group of them, that wouldn't matter so much to me. But Monogram..."

Monogram had been able to fight back Doofenshmirtz for years. He and Doofenshmirtz were intellectual rivals, or used to be. At least that's what everyone who knew of the Major thought besides Doofenshmirtz. Since Monogram's presumed death, he had been feeling just a teeny bit paranoid about Monogram's well-being. He knew for a fact that Monogram was definitely alive and well, plotting something to take the dictator down once and for all.

"Doofenshmirtz, you're right about a lot of things," Schnitzel said with a sigh, "But, c'mon, even you know that the chances of surviving an explosion like back at the OWCA are one in a million. Literally."

"You've seen those trap doors, the escape routes," Doofenshmirtz listed, "Not all of them were completely blocked; they were just too dangerous for us to pass at the time. Emphasis on at the time. Yes, the chances are one in a million, but there's still a chance. A very small one, but a chance nonetheless."

Schnitzel simply stared at Doofenshmirtz. She absolutely hated it when Doofenshmirtz was right. And it didn't help with the growling noises she kept hearing. It felt like the sound was right behind her.

_Grrrr..._

**.**

**.**

**.**

Phineas followed Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel from far behind, slowly moving forward. Whenever they made a turn to another path, Phineas would temporarily speed up and peer over the wall. He wished he could hear them more clearly, given all he heard of their conversation was an interesting detail about the corridors and an explosion. He also vaguely heard two letters, O and C, while the other one was muffled...or was it two? Phineas wasn't sure.

Finally, Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel began to slow down, so much so that they seemed to have stopped walking all together. Phineas froze behind the wall, finally hearing some of their conversation.

"...even you know that the chances of surviving an explosion like back at the OWCA are one in a million. Literally."

"You've seen those trap doors, the escape routes...Not all of them were completely blocked; they were just too dangerous for us to pass at the time. Emphasis on at the time. Yes, the chances are one in a million, but there's still a chance. A very small one, but a chance nonetheless."

_A chance for what? _Phineas wondered, _Who is he talking about?_

_Grrrr..._

Phineas froze, his eyes bulging as he looked behind him, only to see the legs of something big and ugly. He looked up nervously. "Uh...hi?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Seriously, Heinz, do you hear that?" Schnitzel asked, "It's so loud, I swear it could shake the whole floor!"

"It's probably your stomach," Doofenshmirtz smirked.

"Oh, ha, ha, ha," Schnitzel glared, "VERY funny. Except, it wasn't. You're not funny at all."

"And do I care? No-"

Before Doofenshmirtz could finish, or even take another step for that matter, a familiar looking child rushed passed them, taking the left hallway as he did. Doofenshmirtz looked shocked at who it was, while Schnitzel was fairly angry. "Phineas?!" Schnitzel shrieked, "What are you-?!"

"Don't talk! Run!" Phineas yelled from afar before disappearing to another hall.

"Run?" Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel asked the other, before feeling something breath on their head.

Schnitzel became completely still, and upon looking to her partner, she saw that Doofenshmirtz had done the same. Slowly, they looked behind them to see a gigantic creature, with grotesque figuring. And yet, there was something familiar about the demonic monster with...rabbit ears? "Dennis?" Doofenshmirtz asked in shock.

Schnitzel looked at Doofenshmirtz confused. "Huh? Is this thing yours?" she asked.

That only made Doofenshmirtz seem a bit more nervous than usual. "...No."

_ROOOOOOAAAAAAR!_

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel's hair became messier than usual, and their faces became covered with some of the monster's spit. They became completely terrified. "Schnitzel," Doofenshmirtz said in a commanding voice, "Run."

But when Doofenshmirtz turned to give the order, he saw that the woman in question had disappeared. He briefly looked for her before seeing her run down the path Phineas took, left side and all. "WAY AHEAD OF YOU, HEINZ!" Schnitzel shrieked before disappearing into the abyss of corridor.

Doofenshmirtz stared after the fleeing doctor as the monster prepared to eat his head off.

_CHOMP!_

**A/N:**

**Ah, aren't cliffhangers great?**

**Welp, how'd you guys like it? Wasn't that swell? :3**

**If you think so, then please favorite and follow the story. That would be nice. :D**

**As for the comments, constructive critiques are welcome, compliments are welcome, and flames are NOT welcome. I hope you had a good read, I shall write more again soon.**

**HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYBODY! XD**


	24. The Obvious Truth: Part 3

**Hello, again, everyone! :D**

**So, I decided to take bilaterus' advice and do a "last time on..." thing. It seems like a fun idea. :3 I'm just worried that I'll botch it like in Across the Psychotic Dimension (which I'm thinking about deleting). But, I've improved over the years, I'm sure I can pull it off...confidence can be a danger, though. ^^;**

**Anyways, I'm gonna try uploading chapters at least twice a month every Saturday/Sunday. The reasons being that one, it's a weekend, so duh, I'll have the time. And two, on the weekend, I have extra time on the computer, giving me more time to write and upload.**

**I hope you all enjoy this chapter. And if you don't, slap me...not literally, but...ya know. ^_^**

**Read, review, and enjoy!**

**P/F/P/F**

**_Last time on "Like Father, Like Son"...:_**

_Grrrrr..._

"Did you hear that?"

_(~)_

"Uh, Doofenshmirtz, there's something you need to-"

Doofenshmirtz gave one of his infamous death glares. "Look, I don't have time for this," he said, "Whatever's down there needs to be found and destroyed immediately. Now, c'mon!"

_(~)_

"Phineas?!" Schnitzel shrieked, "What are you-?!"

"Don't talk! Run!" Phineas yelled from afar before disappearing to another hall.

_(~)_

"You're coming with me?!"

"I have gone too far in annoying you to have you kill yourself." Applejack stated, "Besides, I need to take care of some things that concern...look, let's just get ready."

_(~)_

Schnitzel looked at Doofenshmirtz confused. "Huh? Is this thing yours?" she asked.

That only made Doofenshmirtz seem a bit more nervous than usual. "...No."

_ROOOOOOAAAAAAR!_

_(~)_

Perry needs to know something. About Doofenshmirtz. About Phineas. About Candace...especially, about Candace.

**.**

**.**

**.**

**Chapter 21: The Obvious Truth (Part 3)**

Within the Resistance base, the Firestorm Leader, Isabella Garcia-Sharpio, was walking through rooms, halls, and even glanced through the ladder-way out of there, simply to look for Candace. To say that the young girl was angry, would be an understatement. "Candace!" Isabella shouted, "Where are you?!"

The other members that she passed knew better than to trifle with Isabella. In other circumstances, she was just okay to deal with. The sassy Firestorm Leader was pretty friendly, if you knew her well enough. But she also had a bit of a temper when she knew for a fact that something was wrong. Panicking just wasn't her style.

She looked to see Dr. Baljeet, rewiring the main computer that had wires stretching far across the states. This computer was their main source of information, and without it, it would be dire. So naturally, Dr. Baljeet went to work on it right away. Then, three hours into his careful work, Isabella pulled him away, practically tearing his eyes away from the wires. "Baljeet!"

"DR. Baljeet" the boy shrieked irritably, "Why do people always get that wrong?!"

Isabella rolled her eyes. "Listen," she said, "Do you know where Candace is? I need to talk to her about something important."

"Fixing this," Dr. Baljeet glanced to the super computer, "Is important too!"

"Yes, and as soon as you tell me what you know," Isabella said, "I'll back off. I swear."

Dr. Baljeet hummed to himself for a moment, rubbing his chin as he did. "I do recall her saying that she'd be in the communications bay to keep an eye on Perry," he said.

Isabella nodded. "Thank you, Baljeet."

"DR. Bal-"

"Whatever," Isabella said before walking away, her thoughts on Perry the moment that Baljeet mentioned him.

_"Candace, you have a lot of explaining to do..."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

Doofenshmirtz stared after the fleeing doctor as the monster prepared to eat his head off. Luckily for him, he noticed, and managed to duck away before the creature could do just that.

_CHOMP!_

Then he sprinted, running for dear life as he went down the same path Schnitzel and Phineas took. The monster soon followed, snarling like a hungry wolf. Eventually, he caught up with Schnitzel, who was so afraid that she didn't even notice until moments later. "Oh, hi there," Schnitzel finally said when she saw that Doofenshmirtz was alive, "Okay, so, we're about to die at the furry paws of a demon rabbit thing. Any ideas?"

_ROOOOOAAAAR!_

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel jumped and sped up, momentarily ending their conversation for a few seconds. "Well?" Schnitzel prodded.

"Uh...not that I can think of," Doofenshmirtz admitted with a chuckle.

Schnitzel twitched, her not so calm smile replaced by a nervous glare. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!" she screeched, "The one who broke a guy's neck, who was twice your size, mind you, can't figure out how to slay a rabbit?!"

"Hey, this thing is the size of a tank plus one!" Doofenshmirtz argued, "What's you're excuse?!"

"I told you something was down here," Schnitzel stated angrily, "AND YOU DIDN'T LISTEN!"

_ROOOOOOAAAAAR!_

Schnitzel let out a scream, while Doofenshmirtz simply flinched a bit as if trying to keep his fears hidden. "We're going to DIE Heinz!" Schnitzel yelled.

"I know!" Doofenshmirtz said, "Don't remind me!"

"HEY!" A third voice butted into the discussion, "Will you two shut up and get in here before that thing eats you?!"

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel came to a halt and looked to a slightly opened door that had the resemblance to the walls. Now that Doofenshmirtz thought about it, this could mean that all the doors were like this, and he and Schnitzel had been passing them the whole time. How someone like Phineas, who was peering through and motioning for them to get inside, found it before him was a total mystery.

Phineas had been a little reluctant to even give them resistance since, one, there was a giant mutant trying to eat them, and two, he had a good feeling that Schnitzel wouldn't be all too happy to see him right now. But, out of the goodness of his heart (and the fact that he actually didn't want to see them die), he decided "what the heck?" And even despite her anger, Schnitzel was the first to bolt into the room, which was no more than a giant closet, followed by Doofenshmirtz.

After getting into the closet, they slammed the door hoping that the monster didn't hear. Then, Phineas, Doofenshmirtz, and Schnitzel, put their backs against the door to keep it closed. They heavily panted from all the running as they slid to sit on the floor. Schnitzel turned to Phineas, glaring. "You have a lot of explaining to do," she said.

Phineas glared back. "Explain wha-?"

_Grrrr...sniff-snuff..._

Phineas and Schnitzel gasped while Doofenshmirtz tensed up a bit. The monster, who was just behind the wall-door, had begun loudly sniffing for them. Not exactly meaning to, Phineas and Schnitzel clung to the closest "thing" near them: Doofenshmirtz, whose fear was replaced by anger and uncomfortableness. He hated people touching him in any way, shape, or form. It took every ounce of self control to stay absolutely still until the monster left.

Once it did, Doofenshmirtz shoved Phineas and Schnitzel off, grunting, "Get off me!"

As soon as he did this, Schnitzel began looking at Phineas hatefully. Before Schnitzel could even speak, Doofenshmirtz spoke for her, knowing who the boy feared more. "_Phineas_," Doofenshmirtz said, making Phineas pale, "I'm going to ask you this as calmly as I possibly can under these circumstances..."

Doofenshmirtz took a deep breath, before yelling (probably too loudly) in an exasperated tone, "WHAT DID YOU DO, AND WHY DID YOU DO IT?!"

Phineas squeaked before giving his answer. "I dunno!" he admitted, "But I tried to fix it, I swear!"

"By _running_?" Schnitzel asked. "Not everything can be solved by running! You should know that by now! Remember when you first came to DEI?!"

"NO!" Phineas said, "Well, yes, I remember that, (don't remind me), and I did end up running. But that was after I tried talking to it!"

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel stared at Phineas as if he were a buffoon. "Okay, so the first thing you want to do when facing a giant mutant rabbit," Doofenshmirtz deduced slowly, and almost confusedly, "Is _talk_ to it...and say 'hello'?"

"I panicked!" Phineas said, stretching out his arms, "What would you have done?!"

"Run," Schnitzel said as if it were obvious, "I wouldn't try SOLVING anything. I would have simply tried saving my own hide."

"You are a HUGE coward," Phineas muttered.

"So are you. You both ran too, remember?"

Phineas fell silent, still giving a triumphant looking Schnitzel with a dirty look. Doofenshmirtz smirked. "That's only because he's a wuss-"

"HEY!" Phineas gave a pitiful death glare that was the equivalent of a pout.

"-and I was facing a giant mutant with no weapon whatsoever," Doofenshmirtz continued, "Not if I had a sharp knife with me..."

Doofenshmirtz made a stabbing motion with an evil grin. Schnitzel stared in disgust. "Sadist..." she whispered.

"You said something, Schnitzel?" Doofenshmirtz turned to her with a look of sarcasm.

"You aren't really helping anyone calm down, you know," Schnitzel said.

"You thought I was trying to help you two? Wow. You're dumber than I thought, Alice. And I thought you were pretty dumb."

Schnitzel twitched again, trying to grab the "carpet" when the ground was concrete. "DON'T. Call me..._that_," she said, "Only my FRIENDS call me_ that_."

"Oh, please," Doofenshmirtz chuckled, "You _have_ no friends."

Phineas winced. The conversation took a turn on the personal side. In fact, so much so that this argument seemed to block out Phineas entirely. Did they forget that he was even there?

And Schnitzel. Her usually hysterical gaze turned into a dark one. Had this been the kind of fall-out that she had explained to Phineas before all of this happened? Phineas bit his lip, wondering what else she would say.

"...You know what?" she said, almost calmly, "I'm not even mad. You stick to your principles, Doofus."

Phineas's eyes widened, not really sure if the comment was accidental or not. Before Doofenshmirtz could do so much as respond, another ear piercing roar sounded, this one being so loud that it shook the floor beneath them. Doofenshmirtz, Schnitzel, and Phineas ducked down in an attempt to block out the sound. "Ack! My ears!" Phineas groaned.

"Doofenshmirtz whispered once the roar ceased, "...do you hear that?"

_Thud...thud...THUD..._

"Oh, gosh, it's back," Schnitzel whimpered.

"What are we gonna do?!" Phineas asked, trying to whisper.

"Hush, both of you!" Doofenshmirtz hissed, "Just give me some time to-."

_ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAARR_

As they ducked down again, Doofenshmirtz noticed a glimmering item, perfect to be used as a weapon. He smirked momentarily, having come up with a plan, and turned to Phineas and Schnitzel. "Open the door," he ordered.

Phineas and Schnitzel's eyes widened. "WHAT?!"

The monster put its nose against the door, and sniffed some more. It growled.

"Are you crazy?" Phineas asked, "That thing is gonna eat us!"

"It won't," Doofenshmirtz said calmly, "Trust me."

"TRUST YOU?" Schnitzel shrieked, "Trust you when you say: 'open the door, let the beast in'?! I mean no disrespect, Heinz, but I'm with the stupid boy on this one. The chances of us standing any chance against that thing is-"

The monster began clawing the door, cutting Schnitzel off. Impatiently, Doofenshmirtz began pushing Phineas and Schnitzel to the door. "Open it," he commanded, "NOW!"

Phineas and Schnitzel looked at each other, hesitantly. Then, with a sigh, they went to open the door as told. Meanwhile, Doofenshmirtz went to grab the weapon lying against the wall.

"D-Doofenshmirtz," Schnitzel said giving one last look, "A-are you sure about-?"

"NOW!" Doofenshmirtz yelled.

Immediately after, Phineas and Schnitzel opened the door, and a large paw stretched through. While Phineas and Schnitzel took cover behind the door, they were shocked to see Doofenshmirtz revving up a chainsaw. Doofenshmirtz quickly moved out-of-the-way from the monster's grasp, and soon after sliced off the hand, blood splattering from the arm in the process. Unfortunately, the chainsaw quickly broke afterwords, probably from the seer strength of the monster. Doofenshmirtz irritably dropped the weapon to the floor, but soon saw his plan fall into motion.

As the monster reeled its arm back screeching in pain, Doofenshmirtz took the opportunity to run out the door, shouting out to Phineas and Schnitzel, "Run!"

Without any hesitation Phineas and Schnitzel bolted out of the closet. Small sprays of blood that hit them caused them to cringe in disgust, but they continued following Doofenshmirtz, and lost sight of the monster.

**.**

**.**

**.**

After about thirty minutes more minutes of searching, Isabella finally found Candace. The Resistance leader had been directing Perry and Applejack through the terrain below from a room filled with communication devices. One machine stood out from the rest: it had a black screen with a map of the underground from the base to DEI. A green light, which represented the drill Perry was driving, blinked slowly on and off. She spoke to them through a comm-link that looked much like a set of headset.

"Candace," Isabella said as she walked into the room.

"There's some unidentified obstacles blocking your path," Candace said, ignoring Isabella, "Go upward, but do not pass the surface."

"_Roger that,_" came the static reply from the teal animal.

Isabella balled up her fists. "Candace," she said a bit louder.

"No drill back down on an angle," Candace continued.

"Alright the-"

Another voice spoke in his foreign animal language. Whatever was being said clearly made Perry angry, for there was a faint thud followed by a soft, "_Shut-up, Applejack!_"

The second animal simply snickered, earning a groan from the platypus.

"Focus Perry," Candace said, "And Applejack, knock it off! Now all you need to do right now is-"

"CANDACE!"

Candace flinched in shock, causing her sunglasses to slip off her face.

"_Huh? Candace? Hello? Do you copy?_"

Candace removed her headset, and turned to the younger girl. "Isabella," the teen said while casting a calm glare at the younger girl, "I'm busy right now. The navigator in the drill is unstable and-."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Isabella interrupted with her hands on her hips, "How could you send them off on this mission while the navigation systems are faulty? They were still under repair!"

Candace reached for her black sun-glasses, glanced at the screen, and then looked back to Isabella. "Normally I would go with these terms," Candace said, "But my brother's at stake right now, and...I can't help but think that it's my fault. I'm surprised that Doofenshmirtz hasn't killed him yet. Not that I'm not relieved, it's just so unlike him."

Isabella looked dumbfounded. "_Unlike him?! _Do you think I was born yesterday? Think back to when he spared you when you escaped DEI prison, and just let you go after that! Even I know that your brother's probably still alive just so he can bait you into a trap.

"Heck, you're practically making Perry dig a trail straight to our base for 'dear' old Doofus to find!"

"And what if I am?" Candace asked before looking back to the screen.

"You're crazy," Isabella shook her head from side to side, "I may have been loyal to you for this long, but THIS! THIS is where I draw the line, Candace. You should, no, _must_ bring them back so we can finish repairs!"

"No, Isabella," Candace said, "We've waited long enough as is. Besides, the drill doesn't need the navigator to function."

"But the drill is still very old," Isabella argued, "And we only just started repairing it about a month ago! What if it suddenly shuts down or malfunctions while Perry is driving? Or worse?"

"Dr. Baljeet said it wasn't that old," Candace stated, "And I know Perry. Whether things go wrong or not, he can handle it. My only worry is that Applejack, as helpful as he is..."

Isabella waled around Candace as she trailed off, the younger still looking up at the older. "Are you willing to risk that?" Isabella asked, "You've been lucky about this sort of thing before, but dumb luck only lasts for so long."

"It's not luck," Candace said placing back on her sunglasses, "I plan these things out, contrary to your belief. The plans take risk, yes, but they work. That's all that matters to me."

Candace looked to Isabella. "I suggest you go back to the Firestorm Girls to continue your training."

"B-but-!"

"That's an order, Sharpio."

Isabella growled in frustration before walking away in a huff. She couldn't stand how stubborn her leader was being! Could she not tell what was at stake? Did Candace even care? Could it be that Candace truly was as insane as Buford said?

Isabella was arguably one of the more intellectual members of the Resistance. Although she wasn't as strong as most male team-mates, she was also very slick, and capable of practically any kind of combat. She could also shoot a penny from a mile away, if given the right size of weapon, since both machine guns and laser canons were both too large and too much for her to handle.

There was no denying that she was second in command of the Resistance. It may have been merely by default, but she knew when and how to take command under the absence of their leader. She just had that kind of bossy, yet firm attitude. Some could argue, however, that she was pretty arrogant. That she thought she knew more than them.

Isabella couldn't help but chuckle at that. Candace truly did rub off on her, hadn't she?

_"If only they knew," _Isabella's thoughts drifted to Perry and Applejack, _"Just exactly what they were getting into..."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Perry's POV)**

"Huh? Candace? Hello? Do you copy?"

There was no response. I removed the headset with a sigh. Applejack tilted his head. "What do you think happened?" he asked.

"Either she was attacked, or she was cut off by one of her soldiers," I answered, "Probably the latter. In the meantime, I'm gonna stop the drill for now. I wish the navigator worked, otherwise I'd like to keep going and get to DEI as quickly as possible. Say," I looked to the pygmy goat curiously as I put back on the headset, "Do you happen to know why they never finished the repairs on this thing?"

Applejack shrugged. "Probably because Candace was too impatient," he said in a laid back tone of voice, "She gets like that a lot. And seeing as her little brother is in trouble, well, I wouldn't put it passed her."

I nodded. It was true. Candace was pretty impatient, even before she left. It almost made me smile a bit to see that behind that tough exterior, she was still...Candace.

"But, it's weird," Applejack said, cutting into my thoughts.

"What's weird?" I asked.

"I always thought that Candace had two brothers," he said, "But, I only saw one with you, and you keep referring to only one owner besides Candace. That would be Phineas. Who and where is the second brother?"

"Oh, you must be talking about Ferb," I said, barely noticing the sudden shock on Applejack's face, "Yeah, he's Candace and Phineas's stepbrother. He was sent back to England after his father...died."

"...Ferb?" Applejack asked, "You said...Ferb? A-as in...Ferb Fletcher?"

I became surprised. How did he know Ferb's last name? I never mentioned it to him, did I? This was the first time I was talking about Ferb to him, so I couldn't have.

"Why, yes," I said, "Ferb Fletcher. Why? Does, Candace talk about him?"

Applejack stared at me with eyes that said, "you don't know do you?" He almost looked kind of...sad. Like he felt sorry for me, or felt guilty for something. He opened his mouth, and then turned away. "You said...he went o England?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yes, I did. He's back with his mother."

Applejack muttered a few things to himself, things about Candace, no doubt. But I also heard him mutter, "Ugh! I'm an idiot! What was I-no, no, what was she-how could she-?"

"...Applejack?" I finally asked, "Is...is everything okay?"

The pygmy goat's organic ear flickered as he lifted up his head, his back still facing me. "I'm fine," he said, as if having an epiphany, "I'm very much fine, Perry. Say, that translator of yours, do you mind if I...borrow it?"

I blinked. Why did he hesitate? That's so unlike him...this entirely was so unlike him. "Uh..."

"After the mission of course," Applejack stated as he turned back to me, his organic ear flicking, "I just, need to use it in order to talk to Candace."

"Why can't you just ask Dr. Baljeet to make you one?" I asked, "I'm sure with enough persuasion that he could ma-."

"No, he won't," Applejack said, "I can't...that is to say...uh...well...I'm not really allowed to...have that collar anymore."

I blinked. "Why?" I asked, "I mean, you're annoying, yes, but you're necessary to the Resistance, aren't you?"

"Yes...and no."

"...Huh?"

"It's a long story, okay?" Applejack sounded annoyed. Questions always did annoy him, yes, but, to this extent? "Look, can I...please, Perry. It's important."

I looked at him hesitantly. "Well..."

"_Perry._"

Candace's voice broke all means of conversation. I almost had to thank her for it. This was getting a bit awkward.

"_Is anything wrong?_" She asked through the comm-link.

"Nothing's wrong," I said looking back to the controls, "What about you?"

"_Just a conversation with Isabella,_" Candace said nonchalantly, "_Now, start-up the drill again. Keep going the same angle as before._"

I looked back at Applejack, whose expression was completely undiscernible. "_Perry?_"

I snapped back to the controls. "Uh...right," I said, flicking on switches, "I'm on it, Candace."

**.**

**.**

**.**

**(Applejack's POV)**

Ah, ha-ha-ha...Quite interesting, is it not? What are the odds? What are the _**odds**_?

And I thought I had made sense of all of this a long time ago. I guess, I was wrong. I know as little as everyone else. This changes...everything.

Well, I can't say that I'm surprised. I should have seen this coming. If the OWCA taught me anything, it's to stay on my toes...metaphorical in my case, but that's besides the point. The point is that I had been too lazy on my part. I didn't expect the worst.

But trust me, I will make it _right_. Candace, my dear, oh the little _chat _we will have...

**.**

**.**

**.**

The sprinting ended in a dark room that the three happened to find. It was the only place where they could think to hide, since it was too dark for anyone, including the monster, to see. Then again, the monster, Dennis, by this time would have died from blood loss. At least, that's what they hoped.

"By the way...Heinz how did...you know...that there was a...weapon in the closet?" Schnitzel asked between breaths.

"Everyone...puts a weapon...in there closet," Doofenshmirtz answered.

After a moment of no response from the other two, Doofenshmirtz blinked. "Well, most people do, anyway" he stated.

The silence continued.

"...I'm the only one?"

More awkward silence.

"I'm the only one besides whoever owns this place?"

"...Yes," Schnitzel finally answered as if face-palming, "Don't even...I mean...gah...my head hurts."

"Do you think we lost that thing?" Phineas asked, no doubt trying to change the line of conversation.

"I think so," Doofenshmirtz answered before pausing, "...Nope. Can't hear a thing. I'm positive we lost it."

"Oh-ho-ho, I wouldn't trust your ears if I were you," Schnitzel stated mockingly, "After all, they're the things that got us into this mess in the first place!"

Phineas lowered his head. "Oh, hear we go..." he muttered to himself.

"Will you drop that already?" Doofenshmirtz asked, "I mean, we're kind of trying to get away from a ravenous monster right now."

"Ravenous _rabbit _monster," Schnitzel chuckled, "We are running from a ravenous...rabbit...bahahahaha!"

"Oh, you think this is SO hilarious," Doofenshmirtz glared, "Or are you just going insane?"

"THE LATTER!" Schnitzel shouted as tears seemed to form behind her laughter, "WE'RE GONNA DIE! HEE-HEE!"

"Hush!" Doofenshmirtz hissed, "Something might find us if-"

"Do you suppose there's anyway out?" Schnitzel interrupted, "Let's face it! We might as well put up a sign that says, 'Dinner: Come eat us'!"

The squabbling continued for a while, making Phineas snap. The argument only lasted ten minutes before the young boy yelled in aggravation, "WILL YOU TWO JUST GET A ROOM ALREADY?!"

Doofenshmirtz's mouth clamped shut and eyes bulged, while Schnitzel's jaw practically hit the floor, her pupils shrunk to the size of a head of a pin. Phineas's face turned red. "I...I'm sorry," Phineas apologized, "You were just...I mean...you...Jeez, this is awkward, uh...let's just calm down, okay?

"If we're too loud then someone or something might find and TRY to kill us. And I don't want to be killed, mauled, or eaten by anything that could possibly be lurking here."

The other two seemed to take these words under consideration. They even seemed to agree, much to Phineas's relief. That was, at least, before Schnitzel said, "You left out strangled, poisoned, murdered, disemboweled-"

"Can it, ya' dictionary!" Phineas yelled, causing the other two to hush him.

"Be quiet!" Doofenshmirtz said, "Someone might hear us!"

"Yeah, what are you thinking?" Schnitzel scolded.

"But I-you two were-I just..." Phineas face palmed and groaned.

"Say," Schnitzel said, "Where are we anyway? It's so dark in here, I can't see my hands in front of my face."

"Neither can I," Doofenshmirtz said, "Did either of you bring matches, or a flashlight, or..."

"Laser?" Phineas inquired.

Schnitzel groaned. "Will you get over that already?"

"What are you talking about? This is the first time I mentioned it ever."

"Quiet," Doofenshmirtz ordered, "Help me look for an on/off switch, both of you."

Doofenshmirtz, Phineas, and Schnitzel began feeling the walls around them for any switches if at all. A few minutes later, Doofenshmirtz accidentally found one.

_Click_

Doofenshmirtz pulled his hand back in confusion. "Huh? That's strange..."

"What?" Schnitzel asked from the other side of the room.

"I found a switch but...no lights," Doofenshmirtz flicked it again, "What does it tur-AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaa..."

The sudden scream caught Phineas and Schnitzel off-guard. As the sound faded, both didn't know what to think or say. "H...Heinz?" Schnitzel asked, "Yoo-hoo. Are you okay?"

No response.

"Doofenshmirtz?" Phineas asked.

No response.

Schnitzel gulped. "C-cut it out, Heinz," she said, "This isn't fun-AAAAAAAAaaaaaa..."

Phineas gasped and looked around himself at the other one's screech. "Sch-Schnitzel?" Phineas asked, "D-Doofenshmirtz? Hello? ...Th-this isn't funny."

Silence.

Phineas whimpered. "Guys...guys, where are y-"

_CREEEE-A-Ack_

Phineas screamed as the floor beneath him shatter like glass, sending him falling into what seemed like a bottomless pit. Minutes later, the faint sounds of Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel were heard, giving Phineas some kind of twisted relief that neither of them were dead. But them a faint _clank _sound was heard, and Schnitzel's voice, once again, disappeared. "Schnitzel? Schnitzel?!" Doofenshmirtz's shrieks were faint, but became more audible as Phineas tried getting closer.

"Schnitzel?! Where the **** are you?!" Doofenshmirtz yelled.

"Doofenshmirtz!"

"Huh? Phineas is tha-?"

"Oomph!" both grunted as Phineas landed on top of Doofenshmirtz, causing them both to spin in the air. Instinctively in a sense, Phineas and Doofenshmirtz grabbed onto each other, and let out screams that dimmed with every spin.

"Doofen-what-going-on?!"

"I-have-nnn..."

The spinning stopped, but Phineas and Doofenshmirtz's eyes boggled dizzily as they moaned. "I think...I'm gonna be puke..." Phineas said.

Doofenshmirtz immediately pushed the boy away, earning a dirty look. "Ever...heard of an...expression?"

"I'm not...taking any...chan...ces with you...kid," Doofenshmirtz rubbed his head.

When his sudden free fall had begun, Doofenshmirtz was in too much of shock to process everything until he heard Schnitzel screaming out at him to snap out of it. In a wave of panic, Schnitzel tried getting some ideas from him, since her brain was not good with problem solving in this situation. To her own horror, Doofenshmirtz could think of nothing. His mind was too boggled, confused, and sore to think of a rational solution.

And then, she suddenly disappeared, not to be seen for a while, Doofenshmirtz was sure. He deducted that she had fallen down another part of the hole, or was simply knocked out cold, or he could even assume the worst for her. Either way, he didn't want to end up like Schnitzel in any way, shape, or form. It didn't stop him from calling out to her, however, for something within him seemed to cause some kind of suffocation that was unbearable, and that the only way to get rid of it was to find out what happened to her. This was probably a sense of suspense on his part; the thought of actually caring about Schnitzel's well-being never even crossed his mind.

But as he descended into what could possibly be his deathbed, something hit Doofenshmirtz. Something that made him piece together everything. Something that made him realize...

...They didn't need a plan right now.

Once the dizziness subsided for them both, they remembered that they were still falling to their doom. "Oh, great!" Phineas shrieked, "What are we gonna do?!"

"I have absolutely no idea," Doofenshmirtz said, rather happily actually.

"WHAT?!" Phineas looked at the other horrified, "You mean you don't have a plan?!"

"Assuming you don't either..."

"...We're doomed, aren't we?"

"Yes. No. Who can say?"

Doofenshmirtz began to go into a relaxed position, while Phineas just stared, not noticing that it had gotten bright enough for him to see the other. "How are you so calm?" Phineas asked, "We're about to die a horrible death, and you're just reclining?"

"One, I'm in my forties," Doofenshmirtz stated very calmly, "I'm bound to die soon, anyway. It's the least of my worries. Two, I don't doubt that there will be something at the bottom of this hole that will catch us anyway."

Phineas blinked. "Say what now?"

"C'mon, Phineas, you're smart, aren't you?" Doofenshmirtz said raising an eye brow, "Think about it: why else would there be a switch to activate a trap beneath the floors? Clearly, this was some kind of trap. A simple one, but a trap, none the less. And whoever thought of it is probably too clever to risk his own life, seeing as so far the rooms we've been in so far are similar to large closets.

"And the weapon in the closet from before. The chainsaw. You and Schnitzel both said that that's not exactly normal for people to do. So, most likely, someone planned for us, whether it be simply Schnitzel and I or more, to come down here eventually to deal with his mutated creatures."

Phineas stared, processing all of this very slowly. Doofenshmirtz smirked. "Give it a second..." he said, humming a bit afterwards, "Three...two...one..."

A light seemed to turn on in Phineas's brain, as seen by his expression. "There we go," Doofenshmirtz nodded.

"So, what, there's a bottom to this hole?" Phineas asked.

"There's no such thing as bottomless," Doofenshmirtz said, "It's just a word to emphasis something deep. So, yes, and we're probably going to land really soon. See how bright it's getting? And look below; you'll see a light."

Phineas obeyed, and saw that there was, indeed, a small light that was growing. The boy stared at the light as Doofenshmirtz continued. "So not only is there a bottom to this hole," the dictator said, "But it also leads to another room. Probably where the person who owns this place is at."

"...Wait a minute," Phineas shook his head a bit, "That same person made those creatures trying to eat us. If what you say about this being a trap is right, then-"

"-most likely the person we're going to meet isn't exactly the good guy," Doofenshmirtz said, "But, oh well. What can we do about that now? No ropes, no weapons, and no means of escape. The only thing we can do is wait and see what happens."

Phineas looked at Doofenshmirtz, blinking. "So...you're plan is to simply...wing it?"

"Like I said, I'm old," Doofenshmirtz shrugged, "I've got nothing to lose. Even if something were to happen to me, Schnitzel is practically indestructible. She's survived falls, explosions, you name it. Heck, she's probably back at DEI, as we speak."

"...You have too much faith in her."

"I'm not saying that she's gonna come back for us," Doofenshmirtz said, "She's too much of a coward. I'd assume that she's gonna try hiding under her bed or something. But, nonetheless, DEI would still be her problem. She'd have no choice but to take on the responsibilities herself."

"She'd just free everyone," Phineas stated, "She seems to care; more than you do anyway."

"Aw, that hurts so much, Phineas," Doofenshmirtz sarcastically remarked, "Now whose having too much faith in Schnitzel? Unfortunately, for you and everyone else, she's actually too smart to do that. Giving up DEI would mean that she would have to pay the consequences of _my_ actions, as well as _hers_. She helped me take over the Tri-State Area of her own free will, so it's not like they'd let her off the hook so easily, even if she, quote on quote, 'cared' for anyone.

Sadly, if I were to die, my plans would have to live on through her. But, it wouldn't matter then, would it?"

"How...huh?"

"I'd get off on a clean slate," Doofenshmirtz said, "And she'd take the fall for me."

Phineas felt something that moment. Pure rage? Utter horror? Or maybe...confusion. Why had he ever felt any sympathy for this monster was beyond him now, all figments of Vanessa vanished.

All traces of full hatred had returned in its place.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER?!" Phineas yelled, "I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU TWO SAY ABOUT EACH OTHER, SHE'S STILL THE ONLY FRIEND YOU HAVE! SHE GAVE UP EVERYTHING FOR YOU! AND YOU...you don't even care?!"

"Nope," Doofenshmirtz said, his expression getting darker by the minute. The smile he had was gone, and replaced with an angry frown. "And the reason is simple: when you lose everything, say, your home, your dignity, your wealth, your..._family_...when you lose everything you've worked for, just because of what everyone thinks of you...you start coming to terms with something that you've denied for so long. That it doesn't matter how hard you try at anything; the results all stay the same. We live...and then we die.

"That's all it is. There's no meaning other than order, that we as humans fail to keep anyway. We've already failed at the things that we've been born to do. So why worry about the inevitable when you can just sit back and enjoy the ride? With an epiphany like that, you come to stop caring all together."

"Then...then why go through all of this?" Phineas asked, "Why take over the Tri-State Area? Why kill your own parents, your brother, and hundreds of other innocent people? Why?"

"Because," Doofenshmirtz said, "If I'm going down, I'd at least want to take everyone down with me. I want everyone who made me suffer, all of human life as we know it, to feel what I felt when I saw my daughter die. I want them to feel how I felt when my parents disowned me. But I especially want them to feel like how I felt when I realized that life has no a way, I'm doing them all a favor, Phineas; I'm teaching them, not to care."

Phineas stared blankly. "And I'm doing it the best way I know how," Doofenshmirtz said turning away to recline again as he let gravity take its course, "So, now you know. Any more questions?"

No answer.

"Good. Now, shut up, and wait."

Phineas continued to look at the man in disgust, all thoughts of the idea of Doofenshmirtz actually being human erased from his brain. Everyone was probably right anyway. Doofenshmirtz was no more than a monster.

But...he had to wonder...did Doofenshmirtz really believe what he said? It didn't make sense with how he reacted back at the Chandelier Room. He seemed upset didn't he? Wouldn't that mean that he did care to some degree?

And why did he scream for Schnitzel if he didn't care? If he knew that she was 'indestructible', then...why yell her name, as if he knew something was wrong? To Phineas, Doofenshmirtz sounded like he was, for that single moment, afraid. It just didn't make sense...

Phineas didn't have time to think anything through, as they finally reached the end of their fall. A glimpse of the floor made Phineas let out a short-lived shriek as he shielded his eyes. Then, his descent came to an abrupt stop. Slowly, Phineas removed his hands from his face to see that he was...floating. He continued staring at the floor, imagining a big bloody mess had he fallen straight towards the floor.

Doofenshmirtz simply smirked. "And you said we were doomed," he said.

Seconds later, they were dropped to the ground. While Phineas was twitching in fear, Doofenshmirtz looked over to their savior. Doofenshmirtz immediately became pissed off. "YOU?! I CAN'T BELIEVE I-"

_Zzzzzzztttttt!_

_Thud_

Phineas looked over to Doofenshmirtz, who was lying on the ground, twitching in pain and barely conscious. Small, electric currents bounced from his body. The young boy stared in shock. "Doofenshmirtz?"

"ZZ-the salamanders-ZZ-dancing-ZZ-hee-hee..." Doofenshmirtz giggled madly before blacking out completely.

The boy turned to their captor: a nerdy looking teen of some sort, wearing black clothing as if he were attempting to look intimidating. In his hand was an electroshock weapon, used to knock Doofenshmirtz out. Phineas blinked. "Uh..."

"Are you with him?" the young man asked motioning to Doofenshmirtz.

"Well...It sort of depends on what you-"

The sound of a weapon charging made Phineas look at the long tazer in horror.

"Wait, wait, WAIT!"

_Zzzzzzztttttt!_

"AAAAAAAA-hee-he-ZZ-pretty colors-ZZ-I love you mommy-ZZ-hee-hee..."

_Thud_

Phineas heard the sound of foot-steps before falling completely unconscious.

"Got them, sir."

"Very good. Everything's going accordingly...but, where's his lackey? Oh what's her name..."

"Schnitzel, sir. I think she might have fallen down the other chute. You know, where _it _is."

"Well, it doesn't matter. We only need Doofenshmirtz alive, anyway. However, if you happen to see her alive-"

"-we'll lock her up right away, sir."

"Very good. Now, lock these two up in their cells. Inform me when they wake up."

"Yes sir."

**A/N:**

**What do you think? Was it worth the read? Are the cliffhangers getting annoying? Am I getting annoying for mentioning this at all? Oh well, if that's the case. It's not my fault that you decide to read this part of the A/N and NOT the more important stuff of this.**

**But I'm sounding rude. Let me cut to the chase, yes?**

**No, Schnitzel isn't dead. Neither are Doofenshmirtz and Phineas, but that's more obvious.**

**Yes, Applejack is insane; everyone is insane to some degree in this story. Even Perry.**

**No, just because Perry and Applejack are getting along now doesn't mean that they don't argue anymore. They're just starting to tolerate each other. I mean, they've been together for months. You'd assume that they'd be best buddies right now, like Ash and Pikachu from Pokemon. But that wouldn't be realistic.**

**Yes, the whole conversation with Candace will be a sub-story.**

**Yes, Doofenshmirtz has a soul despite what you read here today.**

**And, finally, no, there is no point to answering these questions, I just feel like filling this A/N up with stuff you wanna read.**

**So, by the next chapter, I am going to assume that I will finally reach my goal in getting 100 reviews. This will be the first story, and probably the only story, of which I will be having 100 reviews, but I'll be so very happy either way. Who will be the 100th reviewer? Who, I say, WHO?**

**What? No. Not Dr. Who. I'm talking about...wait...I'm talking to myself again aren't I? Sorry. I'm just so excited. :3**

**Now, please, read, review, follow, that would make me HAPPEH! But it's okay if you don't, as long as you like my story...but if you don't I'll never know, so...please? 83**

**GtS is out! Peace!**


	25. STOP SOPA!

What you are about to read has been mostly copied and pasted from a PM between me and another author. Read and beware...

**Pro-SOPA supporters are attempting to bring back another version of SOPA. **

**Naturally, any version of SOPA is unwelcome since it would force the removal of all fanart, all fan-pages, fanfics, fan made videos/movies, etc. **

**Please help stop SOPA. To sign the petition go to (petitions . whitehouse . gov/petition/stop-sopa-2014/q0Vkk0Zr) Just remove the spaces and parenthesis. **

**The petition will close on March 19th. As of now there are 64,537 and 35,463 more needed, so please sign the petition and spread the word. **

**I'm on my way to signing it now. Now it's up to you and the others I will message, and if you can't, spread the word to EVERYONE. Most likely, most of those guys will be able to.**

**Please help save our works. You only need an E-mail to create an account there and click sign. (Even if you are not from the US you can create an account and sign up using your E-mail.) Again spread the word this needs to be stopped before it is too late.**

Seriously, guys, we need to put a stop to this. Now. Before it's too late. D8


	26. The Obvious Truth: Part 4 (preview)

**Seeing as I've taken too much time uploading, I'm giving you guys a preview of the next chapter. It won't be coming out for a while, though. ^^;**

**Enjoy!**

**P/F/P/F**

The fall seemed endless. Even though the descent last for a mere eleven minutes, it felt as if eons had passed back to Schnitzel. That was mostly because her life quickly flashed before her eyes as she fell, and like Doofenshmirtz, was not thinking quite much at all. In fact, it surprised her to notice that Doofenshmirtz seemed to be in a funk as well when she finally reached him. Only his shock seemed...deeper.

"HEINZ!" Schnitzel screamed, trying to snap her companion out of it, actually grabbing the other by the collar in order to do so (which was strange, since she couldn't exactly see him at the moment), "WAKE UP! HEINZ!"

"Wh-wha-huh? Where-?" Doofenshmirtz looked around himself, "Are...are we falling?"

"Yes!" Schnitzel shrieked as if it were obvious, "Focus, man, where were you in? Back at Gimmelshtump?!"

"Guh..." Doofenshmirtz rubbed his head. No doubt he hit it against a wall or something while falling. Now it made sense to the other, who proceeded to panic.

"What are we gonna do?!" Schnitzel asked, beginning to shake Doofenshmirtz again, "What are we gonna do?!"

"Calm down!" Doofenshmirtz said for the umpteenth time that day as he pushed Schnitzel away, "I can't think with you yelling like a crazed maniac!"

"Can you blame me?!" Schnitzel yelled exasperatedly, "All day I've been in near death situations: Phineas tried to kill me with one of your weapons, I fell off a friggin' **building **because of a stupid prank, a giant rabbit-thing tries to eat me, and now...THIS! I am losing my mind, Heinz Doofenshmirtz! LOSING IT!"

Doofenshmirtz simply stared at her, even though he couldn't see her in the dark, nor vice versa. However, he could sense Schnitzel moving around the air as if she were flying instead of the exact opposite. "Please," Doofenshmirtz scoffed, "You've been through way worse than this."

"But all at once?!" Schnitzel hissed in a rage, "All at once, Heinz?! Bah! I can't POSSIBLY see how this can get any wor-"

_Bam!_

Schnitzel's eyes shot open what seemed to be seconds later. The woman looked around, noticing that the surroundings had gotten brighter from a bluish lighting. However, she had also noticed that she was falling alone. Schnitzel began looking around, feeling her breath rushing out of her. "Heinz? Are you there? Say something if you are, _please_."

The doctor looked around in terror, after hearing nothing but the wind against her body. "HEINZ!" Schnitzel screamed, "HEINZ WHERE ARE YOU?!"

She looked down, just as she entered the room below, where a large pool broke her fall. With a splash, Schnitzel sunk deep beneath the pool, staying there for seconds before swimming back to the surface. Schnitzel began coughing and sputtering, slowly beginning to breath even faster as she searched around the pool. "HEINZ?! HEINZ?! DOOFENSHMIRTZ?! PHINEAS?!"

Schnitzel froze. Phineas? Where did that come from?

She swallowed. "PHINEAS?! HEINZ?! WHERE ARE YOU?! PLEASE, TELL ME!"

Tears fell freely, that or water. She couldn't tell anymore, even with the lump forming in her throat. Schnitzel dove down and searched for bodies, or anything that would indicate that either one of them were still alive. Every twelve long seconds, she would swim up for air, before diving back down. She gave up after a while, and continued to fruitlessly call their names without an answer.

"HEINZ! PHINEAS! HEINZ!" Schnitzel cried, assuming the worst by now, "PHINEAS! HEINZ...Heinz...oh Heinz..." the woman shook her head in desperation, "And that stupid, stupid, stupid-!"

_ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!_

"...kid?"

Schnitzel looked around herself as the familiar sound echoed. It sounded so far away...and yet...so near. "Ugh," Schnitzel groaned, "First, I agreed to enter this place, I get chased by a monster, I fell down here with no trace of Heinz, and now that rabbit-thing is back. Can my day get any worse?!"

_ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!_

"Then again, I don't think rabbits can swim, so maybe this is a good thing," Schnitzel said, trying to calm himself down, "But I could be wrong about that. I'm a doctor, not a vet. Those are two different things..."

_ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!_

"...Wait a minute," the woman's eyes widened, "That sound...it's muffled!"

Schnitzel glanced to the depths and saw an unknown creature swimming up to her. She quickly began swimming away before the creature shot its head out. It was a sea monster of some kind, with a long neck, evil red eyes, and teeth sharp enough to drill through pure metal. It looked far bigger than the mutated "Dennis the Rabbit", and it looked a lot...hungrier. Schnitzel swallowed a lump in her throat before letting her jaw drop a bit at the sight of the beast.

The moss green water beast let out a loud, angry screech upon seeing Schnitzel staring up at it. The toothy grin was translated to say, "I'll give you a head start."

And with that, Schnitzel screamed, and swam for dear life. "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh!"

As the sea monster began swimming after her, she began thinking over her options...only to realize that she had none. She couldn't see any exit. There was no ladder out of the tank that could be seen, no doorway out. She was trapped.

There was only one thing she could do, and that was inevitably going to be fruitless. But, it was worth a try, in Schnitzel's mind.

"HEINZ! HELP ME!" she screamed.

The sea monster swam closer, speeding up with ever movement. That, or Schnitzel was slowly down. She wasn't sure anymore. All that she knew was that it was getting closer to her. She continued to cry for help that would never come.

"SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! PLEASE, HELP ME!"

Schnitzel's face slammed against the glass of the tank, stopping her swim for survival. She turned back to the monster, who jumped out of the water, opened it's large mouth, and shot straight for Schnitzel.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLP!"

_SPLASH_

The creature landed back into the water, swimming down under, dragging Schnitzel with it.

**A/N:**

**Dr. S: Did...did you just kill me.**

**:3**

**Dr. S:...Why aren't you answering?**

**See you guys later!**

**Dr. S: Wait! You can't just leave me hanging here!**

**That's the point, Alice.**

**Dr. S: O_O**


	27. The Obvious Truth: Part 4

**Wow. When I said that it would take a while for me to post another chapter, I didn't think it would take me THIS long! I mean, seriously, the year's almost over! When am I gonna finish this story?! D8**

**Then again, I shouldn't be surprised. I always procrastinate on these things.**

**Oh well. Procrastination always helps in making my stuff better...somehow...I think it's mostly stress...I am so hungry right now. We need to restock on Mac and Cheese. *Poof! Restocked!* YAY! XD**

**I'm starting to think that naming chapters was a bad idea. I can never come up with enough titles. Perhaps when I rewrite this (and you know I will), I'll be able to ex-nay on the naming and such and focus more on the chapter itself. The titles I come up with are bad anyway. XD**

**And yes, I am rewriting this. Unlike my other stories, I won't be doing that until this entire thing is done. At the same time, however, I'm drafting the rewrite as we speak. I won't be posting anything until this is over, however. So don't be asking for previews. All I'm gonna say is that the first thing I'm changing is the way I'm doing these "Last time" things. I made it too much like Avatar: the Last Airbender. ^^;**

**Also, those spoilers I gave before the preview? If you didn't get the joke from the previous thing, I tend to change my mind from time to time. So, yeah, that random list of "spoilers" I gave in another previous chapter? It's subject to change. I don't even know what's gonna happen next! I usually just shoot, and hope for the best. (Haha, that rhymed) :3**

**So...enjoy! :D**

**P/F/P/F**

_**Last time on Like Father, Like Son:**_

"Do you know where Candace is? I need to talk to her about something important."

"Fixing this," Dr. Baljeet glanced to the super computer, "Is important too!"

"Yes, and as soon as you tell me what you know," Isabella said, "I'll back off. I swear."

(~)

"Okay, so, we're about to die at the furry paws of a demon rabbit thing. Any ideas?"

"Uh...not that I can think of," Doofenshmirtz admitted with a chuckle.

(~)

"Focus Perry," Candace said, "And Applejack, knock it off! Now all you need to do right now is-"

"CANDACE!"

(~)

"...Ferb?" Applejack asked, "You said...Ferb? A-as in...Ferb Fletcher?"

"Why, yes. Ferb Fletcher. Why? Does, Candace talk about him?"

(~)

Ah, ha-ha-ha...Quite interesting, is it not? What are the odds? What are the _**odds**_?

(~)

Once the dizziness subsided for them both, they remembered that they were still falling to their doom. "Oh, great!" Phineas shrieked, "What are we gonna do?!"

"I have absolutely no idea," Doofenshmirtz said, rather happily actually.

"WHAT?!" Phineas looked at the other horrified, "You mean you don't have a plan?!"

"Assuming you don't either..."

"...We're doomed, aren't we?"

"Yes. No. Who can say?"

(~)

"YOU?! I CAN'T BELIEVE I-"

"Wait, wait, WAIT!"

_Zzzzzzztttttt!_

_Thud_

(~)

"Very good. Now, lock these two up in their cells. Inform me when they wake up."

"Yes sir."

**Chapter 22: The Obvious Truth (Part 4)**

The fall seemed endless. Even though the descent last for a mere eleven minutes, it felt as if eons had passed back to Schnitzel. That was mostly because her life quickly flashed before her eyes as she fell, and like Doofenshmirtz, was not thinking much at all. In fact, it surprised her to notice that Doofenshmirtz seemed to be in a funk as well when she finally reached him. Only his shock seemed...deeper.

"HEINZ!" Schnitzel screamed, trying to snap her companion out of it, actually grabbing the other by the collar in order to do so (which was strange, since she couldn't exactly see him at the moment), "WAKE UP! HEINZ!"

"Wh-wha-huh? Where-?" Doofenshmirtz looked around himself, "Are...are we falling?"

"Yes!" Schnitzel shrieked as if it were obvious (which it was), "Focus, man, where were you in? Back at Gimmelshtump?!"

"Guh..." Doofenshmirtz rubbed his head. No doubt he hit it against a wall or something while falling. Now it made sense to the other, who proceeded to panic.

"What are we gonna do?!" Schnitzel asked, beginning to shake Doofenshmirtz again, "What are we gonna do?!"

"Calm down!" Doofenshmirtz said for the umpteenth time that day as he pushed Schnitzel away, "I can't think with you yelling like a crazed maniac!"

"Can you blame me?!" Schnitzel yelled in an exasperated voice, "All day I've been in near death situations: from Phineas attempting to kill me with one of your weapons a mere few hours ago, to me falling off a friggin' **building **because of a stupid prank, to a giant rabbit-thing trying to make a fresh meal out of us, and now...THIS! I am losing my mind, Heinz Doofenshmirtz! LOSING IT!"

Doofenshmirtz simply stared at her, even though he couldn't see her in the dark, nor vice versa. However, he could sense Schnitzel moving around the air as if she were flying instead of the exact opposite. "Please," Doofenshmirtz scoffed, "You've been through way worse than this."

"But all at once?!" Schnitzel hissed in a rage, "All at once, Heinz?! Bah! I can't POSSIBLY see how this can get any wor-"

_Bam!_

Schnitzel's eyes shot open what seemed like seconds later. The woman looked around, noticing that the surroundings had gotten brighter from a bluish lighting. However, she had also noticed that she was falling alone. Schnitzel began looking around, feeling her breath rushing out of her. "Heinz? Are you there? Say something if you are, _please_."

The doctor looked around in terror, after hearing nothing but the wind against her body. "HEINZ!" Schnitzel screamed, "HEINZ WHERE ARE YOU?!"

She looked down, just as she entered the room below, where a large pool broke her fall. With a splash, Schnitzel sunk deep beneath the pool, staying there for seconds before swimming back to the surface. Schnitzel began coughing and sputtering, slowly beginning to breath even faster as she searched around the pool. "HEINZ?! HEINZ?! DOOFENSHMIRTZ?! PHINEAS?!"

Schnitzel froze. Phineas? Where did that come from? She didn't care about Phineas all that much...did she? Did that stupid boy manage to grow on her after all this time?

She swallowed the saliva forming in her mouth. "PHINEAS?! HEINZ?! WHERE ARE YOU?! PLEASE, TELL ME!"

Tears fell freely, that or water. She couldn't tell anymore, even with the lump forming in her throat. Schnitzel dove down and searched for bodies, or anything that would show that either one of them were still alive. Every twelve long seconds, she would swim up for air, before diving back down. She gave up after a while, and continued to fruitlessly call their names without an answer.

"HEINZ! PHINEAS! HEINZ!" Schnitzel cried, assuming the worst by now, "PHINEAS! HEINZ...Heinz...oh Heinz..." the woman shook her head in desperation, "And that stupid, stupid, stupid-!"

_ROOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAR!_

"...kid?"

Schnitzel looked around herself as the familiar sound echoed. It sounded so far away...and yet...so near. "Ugh," Schnitzel groaned, "First, I agreed to enter this place, I get chased by a monster, I fell down here with no trace of Heinz, and now that rabbit-thing is back. Can my day get any worse?!"

_ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!_

"Then again, I don't think rabbits can swim, so maybe this is a good thing," Schnitzel said, trying to calm himself down, "But I could be wrong about that. I'm a doctor, not a vet. Those are two different things..."

_ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!_

"...Wait a minute," the woman's eyes widened, "But...I work on animals all the time! How do I not know this?!"

_"Hey, genius."_

"Oh," Schnitzel blinked quite possibly reaching the breaking point of her sanity, "Brain? Is that you?"

_"Yes. I am here to inform you that the sound you are currently listening to is coming from below...idiot."_

Schnitzel glared. "You sound like Doofus right now," she muttered.

_"Only because you have a massive crush on him. By the by, when are you two gonna get laid?"_

From then on, Schnitzel decided to ignore the voice in her head. He was a huge jerk.

In spite the rudeness of her subconscious, Schnitzel glanced to the depths and saw an unknown sea beast swimming up to her. She quickly began swimming away before the creature shot its head out. It was a sea monster of some kind, with a long neck, evil red eyes, and teeth sharp enough to drill through pure metal. It looked far bigger than the mutated "Dennis the Rabbit", and a lot hungrier. Schnitzel swallowed a lump in her throat before letting her jaw drop a bit at the sight of the beast.

The moss-green water beast let out a loud, angry screech upon seeing Schnitzel staring up at it. The toothy grin seemed to say, "I'll give you a head start."

And with that, Schnitzel screamed, and swam for dear life. "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh!"

As the sea monster began swimming after her, she began thinking over her options...only to realize that she had none. She couldn't see any exit. There was no ladder out of the tank that could be seen, no doorway out. She was trapped.

There was only one thing she could do, and that was inevitably a fruitless effort from the beginning. But, it was worth a try, in Schnitzel's mind.

"HEINZ! HELP ME!" she screamed.

The sea monster swam closer, speeding up with ever movement. That, or Schnitzel was slowly down. She wasn't sure anymore. All that she knew was that it was getting closer to her. She continued to cry for help that would never come.

"SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! PLEASE, HELP ME!"

Schnitzel's face slammed against the glass of the tank, stopping her swim for survival. She turned back to the monster, who jumped out of the water, opened its large mouth, and shot straight for Schnitzel.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLP!"

_SPLASH_

The monster landed back into the water, swimming down under, dragging Schnitzel with it.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Light shifted back into the boy's eyes. Phineas shot up as if he had just been awoken from a nightmare; it was the opposite actually. In fact, one moment he felt an electrifying sensation, and the next he was lying on the concrete floors of who knows where. His head shot left and right as he regained visual of his surroundings. Metal bars, which looked a lot like bars of a large cage, were what he saw first once the blurs became more clear.

Black walls surrounded what appeared to be a prison cell, and the floor was as rough as stone. The horrible noises, which Phineas concluded must have been the reason he awoken to begin with, seemed like it was coming from everywhere, but he soon came to his senses and realized that the sounds were actually coming from outside the barred doors. Phineas went over to the bars, hesitantly, or perhaps even dazed. He grabbed the door, and shook it, creating a rattling sound.

The rusty barred doors were locked tightly, much to the boy's frustration.

"Dang it..." Phineas muttered.

That's when he noticed the size of the holes that the cage-like door had. Perhaps, maybe, he could squeeze out. Phineas hummed a bit, not even going through the hole. Somehow, that seemed all too easy. Surely there was some kind of trap, or danger that he should be made aware of.

That was when a large, serpent with the arms and legs of a four-legged animal of some kind, got into Phineas's face and snarled, as if on cue. Phineas jumped back, nearly losing his balance. The effort to keep up straight was for nothing, for as the red-head began backing away from the door as the large serpent beast tried to get into the cell with no avail, he tripped over something from behind. Or, rather some_one_.

Phineas looked from the ground, and saw an unconscious Doofenshmirtz lying before him. The boy blinked. Ah, yes, he had been electrocuted as well, hadn't he? Phineas snickered a bit. Served him right...

...Wait. Why the heck was he laughing at that? Especially now? Doofenshmirtz and his stupid evil-dictator-brain were probably the only things that were going to keep him alive at this point! Was he even alive? Or had the electricity killed him?!

It was at that single thought that Phineas snickered even more. Nah! Doofenshmirtz could kill a grown man with his hands tied and his remaining eye blindfolded. If Phineas could survive the electric shock, than the dictator could too.

The screeching of the other mutants starting to move toward the cell door. Gasping in terror, Phineas immediately began shaking Doofenshmirtz, hissing to him, "Doofenshmirtz! Wake up!"

Not getting a response, Phineas began shaking even harder. After a while, he began slapping Doofenshmirtz...after he started waking up from all the shaking. This didn't exactly make the dictator happy. To display his feelings, Doofenshmirtz proceeded to grab Phineas by the throat and flung him to the barred doors. Although the impact was less painful than Phineas thought it would be, it still hurt a lot, but wasn't enough to daze him from the sounds.

Unfortunately, he wasn't fast enough to move away from the claws of another mutant (a bear of some kind that looked really malnourished and skinny), who opened his mouth to bite down on his flesh. Phineas let out a noiseless scream of terror (that seemed to affect only the mutants with canine ears) before a pair of gloved hands calmly reached out to the creature's throat, and snapped it. The mutant then released Phineas, slumping to the floor, lifeless. The red-head quickly fled away from the cell door, and slammed his entire rear area of his body against the wall, grabbing his chest, and breathing heavily.

"Th-thanks..." Phineas said so incoherently that he wasn't sure if Doofenshmirtz even heard him.

It wouldn't have mattered, anyway, seeing as the evil dictator was hardly even paying attention to the boy's words of gratitude. Doofenshmirtz glared at the other creatures, who unlike the other living things he had ever met, were clearly unaffected, perhaps even amused, by the evil eye he had. If anything, they seemed enticed by the look, which made the dictator a little curious. "That's weird..."

"What?" Phineas managed to ask through all his shaking.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing..."

Phineas swallowed again. The serpent noticed, and snarled at him again like a mangy mutt. The other mutants copied the creatures reaction, earning a fearful reaction from the boy. "Why do they want to kill me so badly?!"

"Well, you're not exactly the most likable person in the world," Doofenshmirtz stated with a casual shrug, "Everyone wants to kill you from time to time. Especially me."

Phineas cast a nasty look at Doofenshmirtz. "That is not true!" he said indignantly.

"Okay, maybe Schnitzel wants you dead more than I do at this point since you kind of hypnotized her into falling off a building," Doofenshmirtz admitted with a shrug not even mentioning that it was actually his idea and not Phineas's, "But, yeah, a lot of people seem to hate you or want you gone."

"Name _one_ person."

The grin that was plastered on Doofenshmirtz's face made Phineas regret those choice words.

"Oh, besides me and Schnitzel, you mean? Let's see..." the man began pacing as he pretended to be deep in thought; in reality, the answer was fairly easy to him, and Phineas knew this well. "The Norm-Bots want you dead, probably because they want to kill everything in sight, but they do have distinct hatred for you. The Cyborgs nearly destroyed you when you first tried to escape, as I recall. Pinky _especially_ wants you dead for some reason that I assume you caused. I heard a few of the slaves plan things because of your strange tick of talking in your sleep-"

"I do not talk in my sleep!" Phineas said.

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eyes at the remark. "-And I'm pretty sure that Monogram wants us both dead seeing as he mistakes you as an ally of mine," he continued, "In fact, I wouldn't doubt if they have Schnitzel by now, or at least came across her while she fled the scene entirely."

"...If she's alive," Phineas murmured before noticing Doofenshmirtz freeze at those words. Phineas blinked a few times, then cleared his throat which grabbed the dictator's attention.

"Hm?" Doofenshmirtz turned to Phineas as he seemed to return to reality, "Uh...she'll be fine. Schnitzel survives through everything, you know. She fell from one of the tallest buildings in Danville for crying out loud, and the only injuries she had was a bruise. Not even a visible one. Like I said before, she's probably back at DEI, hiding in a closet or something."

Phineas bit his lip suddenly piecing together what he had heard before. Doofenshmirtz didn't honestly believed that Schnitzel could live through anything, did he? Someone as unlucky as her couldn't possibly survive everything. It became clear then that Doofenshmirtz of all people was in denial.

And this time, Phineas didn't feel bad for him. At least, he didn't think so. Not now.

If she died, it was all Doofenshmirtz's fault, after all. It wasn't something worth sympathizing over. Not after the things that were said during the free fall. If anything, he actually felt bad for Schnitzel this time, as much as he hated her.

...No. He didn't hate her. In fact, she had been his only friend through all of the this since he got captured in the first place. A friend he couldn't trust with anything...but a friend, nonetheless. Had he killed her, he probably would have felt terrible in the end, especially since it had been over a letter.

The letter? At this point, he could care less about that. It was probably gone anyway. All hopes of retrieving it were at the far depths of Phineas's mind at this point.

Phineas looked to see Doofenshmirtz looking through the bars, staring at the monstrous beings who seemed to be eyeing at Phineas. The red-head sighed, thinking that nothing could get through the bars, anyway. All the creatures had to be twice his size at the least. There was no way they could break through.

"What are you doing?"

Doofenshmirtz took about a minute to answer. "If we're going to get out of here," he said, "Then we have to know how they think. So, I'm observing them."

"So, you expect to be able to know how they think by the time before that...guy comes back?" Phineas asked.

"Maybe," Doofenshmirtz shrugged, "And by the way, that "guy" is named is Carl."

"There has to be a better solution than that," Phineas said, crossing his arms.

"Well, we could have _you_ squeeze through the bars and grab those keys hanging on the wall," Doofenshmirtz said, pointing to the wall down the hall, which had a hook that held a chain of key-cards, "But, these things would probably hunt you down in a second's notice, and tear you limb from limb...literally."

Phineas could have sworn that Doofenshmirtz actually smiled at that "fantasy". That sadist...

The boy groaned and sat against the wall behind him. "It's times like these that I wish I had my laser..." he muttered to himself, "That would've killed these things..."

When there came no reply, Phineas sighed. "Aren't you at least interested in any form of conversation?" he asked, "I may be questioning_ your_ humanity, but that's not gonna stop me from keeping mine."

"Hm...nah," Doofenshmirtz said, "When you observe, you need focus. Besides, I don't like you, so..." he turned back to Phineas and sat down.

Phineas scoffed. "That's not what you said back at the 'Chandelier Room'," he muttered.

The dictator let out a rather calm sigh. He looked over at Phineas with an unimpressed expression. "You know?" Doofenshmirtz said, "I'm getting really tired of your attitude."

The boy slowly turned to the dictator with a look of exasperation. The answer was unexpected, but did it's job. "_Excuse_ me?" Phineas said, "YOU getting tired of MY attitude?! At least you're not dealing with a sociopath who doesn't know whether he has a soul or not!"

"What do you mean? I deal with the Cyborgs all the time."

Phineas scowled as Doofenshmirtz let out a snicker in entertainment. "You're not funny," the boy muttered irritably.

"Depends on the eyes of the beholder," Doofenshmirtz said, "Or in this case, ears of the beholder. That, or you probably have no sense of humor, like a lot of people I know."

The boy smirked. "If so many people have 'no sense of humor' whenever _you_ tell a joke," he said, "Most likely it's not their fault. You're just bad at telling jokes."

"Good point," Doofenshmirtz admitted with a shrug, "And yet I don't care."

"Do you care about anything?" Phineas asked, "I mean, just before, when we were falling to our deaths-"

"We're not dead, so, it wasn't to our deaths," Doofenshmirtz interrupted, "Besides, I think plummeting fits the situation a bit more."

"Plummeting and falling mean the SAME thing," Phineas said, "Does it really matter which one I use? Anyways, the point its, while we were falling-"

"Plummeting."

"FINE! Plummeting to our deaths-"

"We're not dead, so-"

"Quit interrupting me!"

Doofenshmirtz snickered once again at Phineas, who growled in anger, eliciting more laughing. Once Doofenshmirtz decided he had his fun, Phineas sighed.

"As I was saying," Phineas paused to glare at Doofenshmirtz, who gave a fake look of innocence, before continuing, "Point it, you acted as if you could care less about dying. Care to explain?"

"Like I said, we live and we die," Doofenshmirtz said casually, "It's the natural part of science that ends us all. However, I still don't want to die at the hands of my most hated adversary, so, if you excuse me..."

"What makes that old dude so different from your other enemies?" Phineas asked, rather unimpressed, "You know, Perry, the Resistance..."

"Well, at least I plan on turning Perry the Platypus into a Cyborg," Doofenshmirtz said, "And at least I plan on making the Resistance my slaves. I want to KILL Monogram as slowly and painfully as possible. I possibly hate him more than Rodney, and he killed my child at a tender age. That is how much I hate Monogram."

This got Phineas curious once more. "But why do you hate him?" Phineas asked, "What makes him so different from anyone else that makes you want to kill him?"

Doofenshmirtz glared, unaware that the mutants were now staring straight at him. Not that they could do anything about it, what with the bars blocking their way. "Because it all started with him," Doofenshmirtz answered.

Phineas blinked in confusion before the doors to the prison/zoo for an array of mutant experiments opened. Entering was none other than the red-headed nerd that had electrocuted them, leading them to where they were now. So, that was Carl, huh? The glasses-wearing teen that has looked so high and mighty before was now struggling to get passed the mutants who wanted nothing more than to bite onto his flesh. Luckily, he still had his tazer, which he used to electrocute a few before they digested the authority.

Doofenshmirtz, unaffected by this (and clearly having forgotten that Carl had electrocuted them to begin with, Phineas thought), smirked as if he were remembering some sort of blackmail. "Why hello, _Dr. Coconut_," Doofenshmirtz snickered, "How's life?"

Carl glared, earning an amused look from Doofenshmirtz. As for Phineas, his eyes widened before he found himself chuckling. "What? His last name's Coconut?" he asked with a grin.

"Oh, no," Doofenshmirtz said, "His last name is Karl."

"Wait, I thought his first name was Carl." Phineas blinked.

Carl groaned. "My name is Carl Karl!" he said.

Phineas blinked. "Why?" he asked, "Do your parents hate you or something?"

Doofenshmirtz struggled not to laugh at the exasperated look on Carl's face. "No, my parents do NOT hate me," Carl said, almost as if he were in denial, "Shut up!"

Phineas rolled his eyes before looking at Doofenshmirtz with an unimpressed expression. "You are just enjoying every minute of this, aren't you?" he asked.

"Can't help it," Doofenshmirtz laughed, "Everything about this is hilarious!"

"Wow," Phineas said, "You really don't have a sense of hu-aaaaaagh! Hee-hee, goodnight pony time!"

_Thud_

Carl glared at the twerp, who he just electrocuted with his tazer rod. Doofenshmirtz sighed with a smile. "That's another name on the "Everybody Hates Phineas" list."

Phineas flinched on the floor. Carl turned to Doofenshmirtz, who still had the look of amusement while in his brain was a simple idea of how to get the tazer away from Carl, using it on him AND the mutants, escaping the cell, etc. Carl obviously knew this, because he immediately retracted the weapon into a form that made it look more like a remote instead of a rod. Still, this did not deter Doofenshmirtz's smirk, which made Carl even more irritated.

"Why are you so amused?" Carl asked, "You're at the hands of your greatest enemy! Doesn't that make you quake with fear?"

Doofenshmirtz's laughter ceased at those words. He became utterly unimpressed. "Quake with fear?" he said, "Seriously? I fear Schnitzel's bra more than you or Monobrow for that matter." he paused "Then again, there is actually something terrifying about that, considering I've known her since my childhood..."

"His name is Mono_gram_," Carl said, "You shouldn't be so insulting to your captors. It's a risky move on your part."

"Says the estranged college-student who cross-dresses on his own time."

"Why you-!"

Carl pull out the tazer to its original state before trying to lunge it at Doofenshmirtz. The dictator grabbed it by its handle, with it only milometers away from his chest. The idea of simply tearing the device away was tempting, but then another pushed through, one that seemed more entertaining to the dictator. Doofenshmirtz pushed it back, sending Carl toppling over a few of the mutants, who did nothing to attack him for fear of being electrocuted.

_Hm...electrocution... _Doofenshmirtz thought to himself with a mental grin at the mutants.

Carl glared at a few creatures sniffing him before he smacked them away. The said monstrosities growled only for Carl to aim his weapon at them, making them back away, whimpering. He glared back at Doofenshmirtz, but said nothing. "What's the matter?" Doofenshmirtz asked, "Cat gotcha tongue?"

"Watch it, Heinz," Carl seethed as he pointed at Doofenshmirtz threateningly, "When Monogram gets through with you, you'll see what you're messing with!"

Carl marched off in a huff of anger. Doofenshmirtz smirked and looked to Phineas, who was still flinching. Another mutant, one that was part lizard and part gorilla, had squeezed its head in between the bars, and was sniffing Phineas's head. It licked it's lips, and spit dripped onto the boy's head. Phineas groaned. "Wh-wha..." he looked up to see the mutant's mouth open wide, "AH!"

With lightning fast speed Phineas rushed away from the creature, who smashed its teeth onto the pavement. Once again, Doofenshmirtz burst into laughter as Phineas, leaning against the wall and grabbing his chest, seemed to be hyperventilating, whilst the mutant struggling to pull its head out of the bars, whimpering as loose, bloody teeth began falling to the floor like coins. Phineas seemed to snap out of his state of fear as he turned to Doofenshmirtz with a fierce glare. Doofenshmirtz responded, "You would've have laughed just as hard if it were me."

Phineas sneered. "I'm not like you," he said, "I wouldn't laugh at other people's misery."

The dictator rolled his eyes at these words, looking almost annoyed. "That's a lie and you know it," Doofenshmirtz said, "You've laughed at Schnitzel's pain several times."

"Yeah, well," Phineas paused for a second, "EVERYONE does! Literally, everyone! Even the Norm-Bots do, and they play poker together!"

At this Doofenshmirtz looked surprised. Phineas was as well. There was actually something that the dictator didn't know...huh...oddly comforting. "Seriously?" Doofenshmirtz asked, "She plays poker with the Norm-Bots?"

"And the Cyborgs," Phineas stated. His eyes shifted, though more so for the awkwardness and not for any suspicious intention, "And, perhaps, on a couple of occasions, me." a pause "Peter is really good at that game."

Doofenshmirtz shook his head. "I always wonder what goes on in that head of hers..." he mumbled to himself before his eye widened, "Wait. Peter beat you in a game of poker?"

Phineas simply shrugged at the dictator with a look of indifference. "You'd think it would have been Pinky to at least save what's left of my dignity, but _luckily_ life has not been so kind to me."

"Sarcastic much?"

"Congrats, Doofus. You've gone from Doctor-Hears-Bad, to Doctor Obvious. What an accomplishment for a 47 year old man."

"Says the kid who spent a year talking to a platypus without any other human contact."

"...Touche."

"Also, I'll murder anyone who calls me Doofus again. Got it?"

Phineas gulped, his eyes widening a bit as a bead of sweat came down his head. Doofenshmirtz smirked once again as he walked over to the bars, completely unaffected by the creatures' hungry growls. Honestly, he had seen worse back at Drusselstien. Doofenshmirtz mentally shuddered. Oh, _Drusselstien_...

"Yeah," Doofenshmirtz said, grabbing the bars of the cell, "That's what I thought." His eye drifted to one side of the hallway, and he grinned, "Now, if you excuse me, I believe I am coming very close to an idea that might fix all of this..."

Phineas blinked at this and walked over by Doofenshmirtz, who seemed to be staring off down a hall. In fact, he seemed to be motioning to the direction to Phineas. Curiously, Phineas peered through the bars as much as he could without getting his head chomped off by one of the hundreds of mutants. And there, down the prison corridor, on a wall, on a hook, was a rusty, silver, key.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"...Ugh..."

I found myself creating a similar sound, hours upon hours having been passed during the heinous travels underground. So far, the only notable danger had been a boulder, which the drill I currently drove destroyed instantaneously. Other than that, dirt. Lots, and lots, of dirt.

It was so boring, I even allowed Applejack to take turns with me to do the driving, wondering if he could make it at least a little bit exciting. Yes. It was so boring, I was willing to put my life on the line. Idiotic, I suppose, but, luckily in some kind of sense, Applejack managed to create no mayhem whatsoever. The situation was too boring for him to alter, it seemed.

I began contemplating everything through my outrageous boredom. I contemplated why Phineas thought it was a good idea to leave the house, as I had wondered millions of times before. I wondered what was going on Candace's head when she decided to leave her brother behind, instead of taking him (and hopefully me) with her. I began to wonder how Doofenshmirtz and his partner (who was pretty forgettable to me) were doing, and what I was going to do to them if my boy happened to be mutilated in any way, shape, or form.

After contemplating all of this, my curiosity made me wonder...how the _heck_ could Applejack drive with _hooves_?

Yes, yes, how was that possible? HOW was Applejack capable of picking things up with those things? His hooves weren't built like my paws were. At least my paws could genetically form themselves into furry hands when going from my "dumb-animal" persona to my secret agent stance. Applejack was always on all fours, and therefore never turned his hooves into hands.

"...How?"

Applejack hummed as he turned to me, raising his invisible eyebrow. "How do you do that?" I asked.

"Uh...do what?" Applejack blinked.

"Well...anything, really," I said, "How can you drive with hooves, first of all?"

The goat simply stared at me, not changing his blank reaction. He tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

I felt like face-palming. Not just at his obliviousness, but at myself for even asking the question to begin with. Didn't occur to me that perhaps he wasn't even aware of how he had such an ability, nor would he probably care to think too deeply on how. "How can you grab things?" I finally said, rather dryly.

"Ooooh!" Applejack grinned, "It's easy! I just grab it!"

"It's...that easy?" I asked, having been given an answer that didn't give me much to go by.

"Yep!" Applejack chuckled, "It's that easy! I know what you're thinking: isn't it hard to grab things with hooves? Well, let me tell you, it's fine once you get used to it. It was hard back in the day when I was in training at the agency, but now I have mastered its sheer mystery."

A dumb grin plastered onto Applejack's face. Half of me was thinking that he was keeping his "secrets" from me just to annoy me, like usual. Another half told me that he was sincerely in the dark of what he meant, and thought he had told me enough. Before I could ask more, a large thud suddenly stopped the machine in its tracks. Applejack and I slowly looked upward, staring wide-eyed.

_"Perry?"_

Candace returned on feed. She had stopped giving directions a few hours ago, as she needed to teach Buford a lesson about distancing himself from people at work. Dr. Baljeet was in the mix, of course. When it came to Buford, Resistance or not, he was always in the mix.

"Candace," I said through the communication device, "I...I think we may have made our destination..."

_"You'd be right. You're right underneath DEI. Now, for the next step..."_

"And that's to find an opening, hide the drill, and sneak in, right?"

_"Exactly. Good luck, Perry."_

"We'll need it."

The feed was cut, and I turned to Applejack. "Alright," I said, "We gotta get this drill up to surface."

"Yeah, yeah," the goat rolled his eyes, "And just how are we gonna be able to hide this thing?"

I went to the controls, pressing a few buttons while Applejack remained seated where he was. "Isabella and Gretchen downloaded a camouflage feature into the drill," I explained, "That should be enough to hide this monstrosity."

"And, how do we manage to get in?"

"That's where you come in. Being a Cyborg, the Norm-Bots will probably let you in. They're are smart as a walnut, so they won't even recognize you as a threat. In fact, they'll think that you're bringing me in as a prisoner."

Applejack nodded, looking rather impressed at my plan. However, in his eyes were some kind of hint of ridicule that I would later strangle him for. Only, it wasn't ridicule. For once, he actually had something useful to say.

"How are we going to get up to surface without Candace to guide us?"

I didn't answer, staring at him blankly.

"...Candace!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

Within the dimly lit office of a former Major of one of the most well-trained organizations of the world, sat the said former Major. Monogram was looking through what seemed to be old blueprints and designs for great mechanical feats. He himself was not an inventor; that was left to Carl, who he viewed as a bumbling idiot otherwise. He would not waste time looking fondly at any drawings made by Carl, anyway.

Not that he was even fondly staring at the pieces of paper. No. He was staring intensely. Out of hatred.

He never hated Carl, whom he at least learned to tolerate. He never really hated anyone.

Except for one person in his life. The one person who had managed to out do him in virtually everything.

_Doofenshmirtz_.

There was a time in his life, where Monogram seemed to have the power over every living being in the Tri-State Area. Given that his agents had full authorization to wreck the homes (and sometimes lives) of random civilians who may or may not have committed rather petty crimes. As for the agents, none of them really questioned their leader's motives, seeing as they were mere animals. Well, not Perry. Perry was special, Monogram could tell.

Platypuses normally couldn't do anything, not like other animals. Dogs and cats were born hunters, birds knew the air like they knew their meals, even an army of ants seemed to be more distinguished than a mere platypus. Perry was _the_ exception. From the moment he was brought into OWCA, he had proven more skilled than any agent, surpassing even his mentor at one point. It was natural for Monogram to be...intrigued.

He had paired Perry up with Doofenshmirtz for that very reason. Although during the time Doofenshmirtz didn't even know Monogram, Monogram knew plenty about Doofenshmirtz. The currently evil dictator, while he once attacked the city with his machines merely to vent his rage and confusion that built up about Vanessa's death, was once just that. A villain who was trying to get his way, but was simply testing out how far he'd get. And compared to the other bad-guys out there, Doofenshmirtz got pretty far, even back then.

Monogram thought that Perry would be able to stop him once and for all. He never thought that Perry would actually turn on him. He never thought that Perry would actually try to help Doofenshmirtz cope with the emotions. He never thought that it would actually work for a time being, and that Doofenshmirtz, stone-heart Doofenshmirtz, would build more "-inators" just to see the secret agent platypus again and again in order to move on.

Thus, Doofenshmirtz inadvertently posed as a threat to Monogram's hypothetical regime, having "taken control" over his best agent with his depressingly dark back-stories. Before he knew it, something had changed, and Perry's comfort didn't help Doofenshmirtz anymore. Everything came so fast after that. Monogram was the only non-witness who knew for certain that Doofenshmirtz was Mayor Roger's killer, for even Perry seemed in denial. The fool thought that Doofenshmirtz would never do something like this; that he was his _friend _and therefore couldn't possibly be capable of such a thing.

And then it happened.

The war to protect Danville, and all of it's inhabitants arose. Armies were made, letters were sent to Senate, and the people stood strong against the army of robots created by an insane, one-eyed man, and his female associate, who seemed completely petrified by the display. Monogram's agents fought the hardest, and came the closest to success. Perry was nowhere to be found, being more focused on helping some of those who worked for OWCA get to safety, although his protege had come to fight the battle as well. They would have won...until several of the agents disappeared, reappearing as Cyborgs.

The tables turned. Doofenshmirtz had cheated, knowing he couldn't win against Monogram without a change of plans. OWCA, in the end, had to stand down, though mercy was not given by their adversary. Doofenshmirtz tried to destroy Monogram and his lackeys, having the OWCA based obliterated. Clearly, Doofenshmirtz had something against Monogram, though that wasn't exactly clear, other than a file regarding Monogram's acquaintanceship with Rodney, the one who killed Vanessa. Perhaps Doofenshmirtz thought that Monogram had been involved? That the whole thing was planned to getting Doofenshmirtz out of his way, not expecting him to kill the guy he sent?

It wasn't a fair assumption, but anyone who knew Rodney was Doofenshmirtz's enemy (which was the reason why Schnitzel never told him how she was once "friends" with Rodney). Somehow he knew that Monogram was the main source of all of his suffering, and that if he could destroy Monogram, he could return back to the way things were, or at least found some peace. It never worked. And now he knew it was because Monogram had somehow survived, that bastard.

Monogram anticipated failure, and thus had Carl and some other builders create an escape route in OWCA. Those who Doofenshmirtz wanted killed had survived, though they hid underground all this time. Monogram and Carl eventually went their separate ways with the remaining co-workers and scientists of OWCA, although the agents stayed. Where else could they go? They were bound to their loyalty.

Even after Monogram went completely insane, and decided to strengthen his "army" by experimenting on them, switching their body-parts, altering their minds to make them like animals as they once had been, only this time they were more savage than even their previous lives. Dennis, the first to be mutated after his bones were all shattered from Doofenshmirtz's attacks, had immediately shown promise of overcoming any enemy. It had been an accident, causing Dennis to become a full fledged monster, but he survived the injuries because of it. So, clearly, these intentions were good ones.

At least, that's what one would hope.

"Uh...sir?"

Monogram turned to the door, and saw Carl with a look of curiosity. He had clearly been standing there for a few minutes, trying to get his superior's attention. "Are they awake?" Monogram asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," Carl said sighing, "Doofenshmirtz hasn't changed a bit. Actually, he seems twice as irritating as before."

"Good."

"...Sir, if I may be so bold...why exactly do you want to keep him alive? You keep saying how much of a nuisance he is, and how he managed to gain what should have been yours. I would assume killing him would be the best thing to do, at this point in time."

"You'd think that, wouldn't you?" Monogram asked as he stood up. "Only that would be too simple. It's beneath me to copy his attempts."

"Then what exactly do you plan on doing?" Carl asked.

Monogram went over to Carl and handed him the blueprint he was looking over. "I plan on making him suffer," the former Major smirked, "That way he gets what he truly deserves."

Monogram walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving Carl to his thoughts. The nerdy looking assistant stared down at the all too familiar blueprint. One of the many that Monogram had the agents steal to slow Doofenshmirtz down. It was probably one of Doofenshmirtz's more complicated devices. Much like his screens that controlled the sanity of others, this device altered the mind, but in a completely different way.

Entitled on the top of the blueprints was "The Amnesia-inator".

**A/N:**

**Okay, I would like to point something out, to those of you who have not noticed this. You probably have by now. It's just something stupid, I know. But, just, hear me out. Yes, it has to do with the story, and if you don't care, you can skip it.**

**Have you noticed how Doofenshmirtz and Applejack (at least in this dimension) are alike?**

**I mean, they both like to torture others for their own amusement (for Applejack it's Perry, though I clearly hinted that he does this to everyone at the Resistance, seeing as Candace is clearly annoyed with him, and for Doofenshmirtz it's Phineas and Schnitzel, but we know for a fact that he loves doing that to everyone), they both hate being asked questions (though Doofenshmirtz is surprisingly more tolerant, considering he runs a city...maybe more...), and they both lost an eye.**

**I never really noticed this until now. Especially the eye thing. I know, stupid of me, right? I can't help but feel that perhaps this is why Applejack might have some sympathy for Doof (even though he himself is terrified of him).**

**Speaking of Doofenshmirtz, I can't help but notice that I'm starting to obsess over the guy. I dunno why, he's starting to become adorable to me. Maybe it's because I'm starting to watch PnF episodes on youtube, and some of them have it on a high pitched, so they kinda sound like chipmunks...and I don't know why, but it makes Doofenshmirtz so cute. And it's not even that; he's adorable without the voice! It must be his personality...I need to make a story about him...wait a minute...**

**Also, do you think I make Doofenshmirtz too threatening? I feel like I over powered him. Which would seem fine, since he's kinda a bad guy right now, but he's not the main villain, so...yeah.**

**Finally...yes. Monogram is our main bad-guy. It took him several chapters to show up, but he is, technically, the main antagonist of the story...at least for Doofenshmirtz. I'm not sure with Phineas and Schnitzel. You know, because, clearly, I apparently like Doofenshmirtz more than Phineas or Schnitzel. Yes, even though I clearly developed Schnitzel the best, and Phineas will always be my cuddly-wuddly-snuggle-bear, I have grown to love Doofenshmirtz in his entirety...**


	28. The Obvious Truth: Part 5

**Okay...so...this took me, like, FOREVER to make...like it always does. -_-**

**You know what? I don't even care. It's fun for me to write this; I'm not gonna make a lack of reviews or something or other to ruin that for me. This is a story that has given me something that nothing else I've written has given me. Its something that I absolutely try my best at; is it perfect? No. It has many obvious mistakes and errors, and its practically a ship-wreck. But its not the worst thing I've written; its probably the best I've ever written in my opinion. And I love all the things I have planned for it. So I don't care if this has been up for about three friggin years! Its gonna get a rewrite after its sequels, which yes, I have plans for those. I'm gonna stinking push through this, even if the chapter titles are terrible! XD**

**...Now, after my awful little rant about this, let's continue, shall we?**

**If you're still reading this, I, once again, apologize for not posting anything in a while. I've been taking a break from my other stories; in fact, I'm honestly thinking about putting some of them on hiatus. And no, no form of begging or asking will get me to continue any of my stories. That's not how life works.**

**Also, before I forget: please, check out Marissa Flynn's **"Dolls and Memories", **which is a wonderfully dark tale! Along with that, go check out her other stories as well, while you're at it! Please! They're friggin' awesome!**

**Anyways, without further ado, I present the next long-awaited chapter. :3**

**Read, Review, and Follow, please! (unless you don't want to; then I can't really force you)**

**Enjoy!**

**P/F/P/F**

_Monogram walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him, leaving Carl to his thoughts. The nerdy looking assistant stared down at the all too familiar blueprint. One of the many that Monogram had the agents steal to slow Doofenshmirtz down. It was probably one of Doofenshmirtz's more complicated devices. Much like his screens that controlled the sanity of others, this device altered the mind, but in a completely different way._

_Entitled on the top of the blueprints was "The Amnesia-inator"._

(~)

**The Obvious Truth (Part 5)**

"Hey...Hey...HEY!"

"uGH! WHaT Do you WaNT, PaNDaBoRG?!"

"MaSTeR and DR. SCHNiTZeL HaVe BeeN GoNe FoR a WHiLe, DoN'TCHa THiNK?"

The small, canine cyborg turned to the subordinate, a little shocked. "...YeS," he said, looking to his wrist, which transformed into a watch-like mechanism, "...THey HaVe BeeN GoNe FoR HouRS..."

This wouldn't have been such a shock at all, really, had Doofenshmirtz contacted them by now anyway. Doofenshmirtz often would go out of his way to check how his regime had been progressing himself, once in a while. Schnitzel would almost always come along, for reasons that they could cover more ground. Pinky had a distinct feeling that Doofenshmirtz only seemed to trust Schnitzel, in spite her...oddities.

When either of them were gone for too long, they'd find ways to contact back home to let the Cyborgs know when they should take full command of the operations at home. This would usually be the time to do that, but nightfall was coming. What was taking them so long?

"Do you THiNK THaT SoMeTHiNG iS WRoNG?" Peter wondered.

"PeRHaPS," Pinky said, "oR MayBe THeiR LiNeS oF CoMMuNiCaTioN aRe DoWN. eiTHeR Way, ouR oRDeRS aRe To ReMaiN HeRe, aND SuPeRViSe DEI. We aRe NoT to LeaVe, uNDeR aNy CiRCuMSTaNCeS. iT iS MaSTeR'S WiSHeS."

Soon after, an alarm broke out. The two Cyborgs looked up the ceiling, in surprise. Pinky snarled in anger at the sound, as it upset his ears; but more importantly, he had to deal with yet ANOTHER annoyance as well. Peter whimpered as he plugged his ears. "WHaT'S THaT MeaN aGaiN?" Peter cringed, "I-I THiNK..."

"iNTRuDeR..." Pinky growled, "RaLLy THe TRooPS! LeT uS FiND THeM iMMeDiaTeLy!"

The two Cyborgs fled the room. Unbeknownst to them, a shaft that they stood by rattled. Pushing against the grate, allowing access, was none other than a platypus, followed by a Pygmy Goat. Applejack whimpered. "Tch! That sound," he hissed, "I can't take it! Augh..."

"Just ignore it for now," Perry said, "You heard them; Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel are nowhere to be found. We can find Phineas and get him out of here!"

Applejack scratched at his robotic ear as he followed Perry, wincing with every step as the alarm continued. "Yeah, perfect timing," he grumbled, "If only we were able to disable that STUPID security system...at least we managed to dig out from underground without causing much disturbance...which leads me to wonder, how the hell that didn't cause the alarm to go off, but scouring through the vents did?

"Something must have happened recently that would have charged that," Perry shrugged, "But, I'll give this one thing; this flaw proves to me that Doofenshmirtz is still a big Doofus. That, or he got cocky, or didn't think about us using a drill. Whatever the case, we may not have enough time. We gotta find my owner, NOW."

"Why so afraid all of a sudden?" Applejack asked, "You said it yourself, Doofenshmirtz isn't here. All we have to worry about is Pinky and the other Cyborgs."

Perry glared forward, staring into the halls solemnly. "...That's what I'm afraid of."

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"Hihihihihi!"_

_The Platypup looked up from his bed, which was roughly the size of a small dog's bed. Speaking of which, a jittering looking one was happily wagging his tail at the teal creature, who tilted his head in wonder. "...Hi..." he responded quietly._

_"I'm Pinky! You have ball! Toss ball, now, please, now!"_

_Perry looked over to the side to see a red ball with white stars on it. He shrugged, picked it up, and threw it. The dog gave chase, and seemingly left him be. Perry let out a calm sigh, and attempted to go back to sleep. About five minutes later, the ball came bouncing back, onto Perry's head. The platypus managed to catch it before Pinky came running in, knocking him off the bed with an "oomph!"_

_Pinky wagged his tail excitedly, now holding the ball in his mouth. Perry simply stared up, shocked. "Hyour tho fuhm!" Pinky spit the ball out, "You're so fun! I like you! You're my new friendly friend!"_

_Perry struggled but couldn't stop laughing as Pinky began to lick him on the face. "Cut it out!" the platypus said, "Stop it! No, seriously," he pushed Pinky off, looking a little annoyed, "Knock it off!"_

_Pinky simply laughed. "You're so funny! Very funny! What's your name anyway, huh-huh-huh? I've never ever ever seen you around here before? You new? Or something? Or new AND something?"_

_Perry simply smirked a little. "...Yeah," he said, "I...just came into OWCA...actually they...just placed me here to...rest."_

_"You talk funny!"_

_"I'm...not used...to talking more...than I have...to."_

_"You should always talk! It's fun! Really fun! I do it ALL the time!"_

_Perry stared as the pinky dog bounced up and down, jittering as he did. "...I can...see that..."_

_Pinky knocked Perry over once again. "'Nough chat, let's play! Let's play! Let's play!"_

_Perry sighed, knowing that the dog probably wouldn't leave him alone after this. On the bright side, at least he kinda liked this guy. He seemed nice. Perry smiled. "...Sure. Let's."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

The grin on the dictator's face after explaining his plan was probably the most annoying look Phineas had ever seen. Probably because the plan involved Phineas having to crawl through the bars in order to grab the keys hanging across the corridor, which had monstrous animals lurking in every part of the floor. Hypothetically, Phineas would be small enough to at least squeeze through the crowd without being noticed, but that wasn't likely since they seemed to crave for the smallest meal before the largest. Probably to show that, in spite having to fall under the rulings of their former friend, they still had some kind of power left. After all the chaos, all the torture, and all the unnecessary pain Phineas went through, you'd expect him to (in the most polite way possible) tell Doofenshmirtz to screw himself, and tell him he wanted nothing of the sort, not to mention that he thought that he was off the hook considering that Doofenshmirtz had already laid that out as a failed option.

...And you'd be right, only he was far from polite. In fact, Doofenshmirtz was almost surprised at Phineas's vast knowledge of vocabulary, given that the kid never went to school before due to the banning of said faculty. He wasn't too surprised, since Phineas was intelligent for a kid his age, let alone someone who was never really given the education to create such mechanics in the first place. But that wasn't really something worth thinking over. After Phineas's rather vulgar ramble about how Doofenshmirtz's plan was complete bull-****, Doofenshmirtz went onto explaining his methods even further.

"Okay," Doofenshmirtz sighed, "A. You are the only one who can fit through the bars. B. You need me to survive this hazard of a base, and you know it. And C. You can't pass B. unless you do choice A. first."

Phineas opened his mouth for another vulgar comeback only to sigh in defeat, knowing that Doofenshmirtz was right. He couldn't survive without Doofenshmirtz, and he can't free Doofenshmirtz without the key. Phineas looked up at Doofenshmirtz, pleadingly. "Can't we try to think of something that doesn't involve risking my life for once?"

Doofenshmirtz smirked. "Sorry, kid...well, actually, I'm not, but even if I was, that won't make shrink any time soon. So, yeah, get to it."

Phineas looked up at Doofenshmirtz glaring. "Fine," he said, "Fine! And how do you propose I even get passed them without being torn to shreds, hm?"

"Simple," Doofenshmirtz said, "Pay attention for a moment to how they react to the two of us."

Phineas nodded. He looked at the creatures, noticing one of the mutants. It looked...ridiculous. Unlike the others that were terrifying,

"From what I can gather, these things don't exactly feel emotion; they attack it. They see it as a threat, I suppose. So, if you manage to pull off a straight face, then in theory you should be able to get passed them without harming yourself."

"What if it doesn't work?" Phineas asked, "What if they attack me anyway?"

"Then I have a back-up plan."

"...That would be?"

"I didn't say it was for you. You'll probably be dead if this fails."

Phineas practically face palmed. "If I have to spend one more minute with this guy," he muttered to himself, "I can't be held responsible for what I'd do..."

"Good luck," Doofenshmirtz said rather smugly, "You'll need it..."

Phineas began to think for a moment of how he was going to be doing this. It was lucky that he had a brother like Ferb, who always seemed void of emotion. It was surprisingly easy to imitate; he remembered how that got on his nerves all the time whenever...

Phineas shook his head, swallowing a big lump in his throat. If he started down memory lane, he probably wouldn't be able to pull this off. Phineas took a deep breath, and then simply began to stare forward. He went to work, crawling straight through the bars. Doofenshmirtz watched, curious as to see how far the kid would go before being eaten or something.

The creatures growled hungrily, which made it more difficult to keep up the façade. He took a deep, calming breath. _Don't panic, Phineas, just thing of happy thoughts...think of happy thoughts...like...my father. My real father, I mean. Perry. My brother. My sisters...my sisters? I only have one. Why did I think-?_

_Wait...wasn't there-didn't dad have a-?_

One of the monsters suddenly leapt onto Phineas, growling. It roared in his face. Doofenshmirtz snickered a bit. "Oooooh," he said hiding a sadistic smile, "That's not good..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Applejack peered through the door, looking left and right. He motioned forward. "Cost is clear," he said, "Then again, its too dark to tell..."

The lights in the room suddenly turned on, revealing several screens. They had entered the security room. Perry looked at Applejack unamused. "Light switches," he said, referring to the one he had found, "Use them."

Applejack sighed and walked towards the desk of screens and keyboards. He jumped onto a computer chair, and looked at one screen in particular. "It doesn't appear that the Cyborgs are anywhere close to us," he stated, "I think its safe to check for these recordings...now...how does this thing work?"

The cybernetic pygmy goat pressed a random button; or rather several. Nothing seemed to happen because of that. Applejack tried again, only to be pushed away by Perry. "I'm the one with fingers, you idiot," he said with an eye-roll, "It's probably this button."

Perry pressed said button, and the footage reversed slowly. He pressed it a few more times to speed up the process, looking carefully. "C'mon, Phin," he said more to himself, "Where are you...huh?"

He paused at one moment with Doofenshmirtz in his office, looking at a small tv. Phineas was standing beside him. But that wasn't the weird part. The weird part was that they were laughing at something. Not at each other; at...something else.

Perry blinked as he overheard what was being said.

_"Why is it that torturing Schnitzel like this so entertaining?"_

_"I think she's like a punching bag..."_

_"...Half of the things she's saying don't make a whole lot of sense."_

_"If I told you, you'd be too scarred to do anything"_

_"Is...is she okay?"_

_"I think so..."_

This went on for about a while, until Doofenshmirtz got the phone-call, and slowly went from humored to borderline horrified. Doofenshmirtz left, telling Phineas to scram. But that didn't stop Phineas. Perry saw Phineas leave the room with that look. It was a look that he had when he was bent on seeking out for his father.

Perry looked to Applejack. "He's with Doofenshmirtz," he said.

"Looks like it," Applejack said with a nod.

"I can't believe this..."

"The fact that he followed Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel to who-knows-where, or the fact that those two were acting all buddy-buddy?"

"You DO realize that this might mean that...that he already knows, right?"

Applejack shook his head. "Doubt it," he said, "I dunno about you, but I wouldn't tell my kid to scram the way Doofus did. Something tells me that they might have some things in common."

"What do you mean by that?" Perry raised an invisible eyebrow.

"If what Candace said is true, and believe me it is," Applejack said, "Then they're practically each other's reflection. Whether you like it or not, Phineas is probably just like Doofenshmirtz in one way or another. They're the same, yet completely different."

Perry looked to the floor, mortified. Applejack walked over, eyeing him. "What's the big deal?" he asked, "It's not like Phineas is gonna end up just like-"

"DON'T EVEN FINISH THAT!" Perry glared, "I KNOW HE WOULD NEVER DO THOSE THINGS! DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT THAT FOR EVEN A SINGLE MOMENT, APPLEJACK!"

Applejack took a few steps back as Perry began to pant heavily. The pygmy goat stared. "...Jeez," he said, "It's not the end of the world."

"Elaborate, goat-breath."

"Well, for one thing, he-"

"You!"

The two agents turned to see a Dogborg; Perry took a quick moment to thank God for it not being Pinky, but instead Doug, a brown mutt. Applejack began to laugh. "Ah, Doug!" he said, "Good to see you again! How's your chewing habit, hm?"

"APPLeJaCK?!" Doug glowered, "WHaT aRe You-?!"

"-You two know each other, I presume?" Perry asked.

"It's a long story," Applejack shrugged, "I'll tell you later. For noooow-" the goat grabbed the chair Perry was on; the platypus jumped off right before the goat proceeded to throw the chair straight at Doug, "FETCH!"

Doug dodged the attack, but didn't dodge Perry, who attacked as soon as Doug returned to view. Perry ran, with Applejack following by running over Doug. The Cyborg growled. "GeT BaCK HeRe!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

"...Well at least you managed to survive with minor injuries," Doofenshmirtz nodded, "Yes. I think that went well."

Phineas, covered in bruises, cuts, and teeth-marks, turned over to glare at Doofenshmirtz. He immediately began hitting the evil dictator, who remained unaffected, and simply let it be. "You know," Doofenshmirtz said, "The mutants are probably attracted to your rage, right now."

"I! DON'T! FRIGGIN! CARE!" Phineas said with every punch that remained ineffective.

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eyes; the only thing that the "attack" seemed to do was annoy him. "Be grateful that you're even alive," he said, "I've surprised that you only managed to gain these injuries, along with a minor sprain. These things seem to have plenty of self-control when it comes to keeping an eye on prisoners that they find delectable."

Eventually, Phineas stopped punching, having lost most of his energy from trying to escape the wrath of the mutants' power. "Well," he said, panting a little, "What do you suppose we do now?"

"To be honest," Doofenshmirtz said, "I was sort of hoping that you'd die at this point; I don't usually do this, and I'm not in the mood of you freaking out, as hilarious as that would be."

"What are you-?" Phineas stared as Doofenshmirtz began literally unscrewing his left arm from his elbow and down.

_Pop!_

Doofenshmirtz didn't seem to react that he had just taken off half of his arm as if he were made of Legos. Phineas looked like he wanted to scream, but couldn't do to the dryness of his mouth. But it didn't stop there; no, it got weirder. Doofenshmirtz placed down the arm, and it suddenly came to life, the hand moving like a spider. Phineas was completely speechless.

"You," Doofenshmirtz said as if talking to a dog, "Get the key, get it!"

The arm left through the bars with ease, not even being noticed by the mutants, who were probably too distracted by Phineas's look of shock to even care. Speaking of Phineas... "...WHAT THE HELL?!" Phineas shrieked in terror, "DID YOU JUST-HOW DID YOU-I DON'T EVEN-!"

"Prosthetic limbs are boring, let me tell you," Doofenshmirtz simply shrugged, "You'd think that they'd find a way to make those work better than organic ones, but, they don't. They really don't."

"HOW?!" Phineas asked.

"Oh, well, they're pretty much just pla-"

"NO! HOW THE HELL DID YOU JUST-?!"

"Oh, that," Doofenshmirtz simply waved at Phineas dismissively, "Don't worry about it. That's a story to tell at another time."

"BUT-!"

"A story to tell at another time."

"YOU JUST-!"

"Another. Time."

"...Are you a robot?"

"No. That's not even remotely close. And in case you're wondering, no, I'm not a Cyborg either...you know, technically."

Phineas stared at Doofenshmirtz the rest of the time until the prosthetic arm returned with the keys. Doofenshmirtz took them with a grin. "Thank you," he handed the keys to Phineas, and went back to screwing the arm back on, "That'll be all."

_Click!_

Phineas flinched as Doofenshmirtz screwed his arm back into place. Doofenshmirtz returned his attention to Phineas, who was still in shock. "Now, Phineas if you would?" the dictator motioned.

Phineas handed the keys back to Doofenshmirtz. He began to unlock the bar-doors, and nearly opened the door before Phineas stopped him by grabbing him by the arm.

"I believe you forgot one little detail, Doofenshmirtz."

"Hm?"

"HOW DO WE GET PASSED THESE THINGS?!"

"Oh yeah," Doofenshmirtz rubbed his hairy chin, "I almost forgot about them."

"HOW DO YOU EVEN-?!"

"But, I have an idea for them as well," Doofenshmirtz stated, "You see, we're not gonna be escaping yet."

"...Huh?"

"You'll see. You'll see."

The two sat in silence for a moment. Then, Phineas seemed to realize something. "Wait," Phineas glared, "Could you have just used that arm from the beginning to get those keys to begin with?"

"I suppose," Doofenshmirtz said.

"Then I went out there for nothing?"

"Yep. Pretty much...please stop hitting me. You're only embarrassing yourself."

Just then, Carl entered into the prison cell, looking rather pissed off at Doofenshmirtz and Phineas, tazer in hand. "Well," Carl walked over to them, passed the mutants as he did before, "Monogram is prepared to speak with you."

"Ah, yes," Doofenshmirtz grinned, "Is he now? Well, that's nice...we've been waiting here for approximately two hours for him to 'get ready'. What is he, a teenaged girl waiting for her date?"

"You're really asking for it, you know that?" Carl growled, readying his tazer.

"You never seem to learn from your mistakes, Dr. Coconut," Doofenshmirtz smirked, "No, you really-okay, seriously, Phineas, knock it off."

Doofenshmirtz pushed Phineas off, though the child still seemed peeping mad to the point of a longing to strangle his enemy. Doofenshmirtz simply ignored him. "In any case," Doofenshmirtz went on, "May you be oh-so kind as to explain to us what Monogram would like to chat about? He's usually much more aggressive than that, considering these...I don't even know," he looked at the mutants, "To think he was against animal abuse at one point. Yeesh. This is pretty hypocritical of him."

"Oh my word," Carl face-palmed, "You're insufferable!"

"That depends on the eyes-or in my case, eye-of the beholder," Doofenshmirtz said.

Phineas blinked. "Actually, yeah," he nodded in agreement, "The nerd's right; you're kinda insufferable."

"Now, who asked you? No one. So shut up."

Phineas rolled his eyes in irritation as he crossed his arms once more. Carl rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, "Just come with me, and we can-"

Doofenshmirtz pushed the door open, knocking Carl over, his tazer flying midair only for a few seconds before Doofenshmirtz caught it. He proceeded to use it on Carl, who began to spazz out as Doofenshmirtz and Phineas had when they were effected by it. Carl blacked out, and Doofenshmirtz proceeded to reach over to Carl, grabbing something from his belt. "Grappling hook," he said, "Of course he'd have a grappling hook..."

"I'll take that, if you will," Phineas grinned, "That may come in handy later."

Doofenshmirtz gave Phineas the grappling hook, rolling his remaining eye. Honestly, when would they even need this, anyway? "Uh...Doofenshmirtz?"

The mutants began moving forward, ignoring Carl completely for a moment as they had their eyes set for Doofenshmirtz and Phineas. Phineas looked to Doofenshmirtz exasperatedly. "Can we run now? Please?"

"It would be a waste of time to fight all of these things at once, so-" Doofenshmirtz fled, grabbing Phineas by the arm as he ran, the mutants chasing after them. Phineas paled.

"Please tell me that only one of your arms are...prosthetic..."

"I'll never tell."

"Ugh..."

The two began to run down the corridors, looking for an escape route. Suddenly, Phineas began to have a a sense of Deja vu, but ignored the feeling for now. "So, what now?" Phineas looked to Doofenshmirtz, "I don't suppose we can get away from them without casualty."

Doofenshmirtz looked throughout, and eventually caught sight of a door. He grabbed Phineas, and pulled him into the room. Just then, the mutants came around the corner, and ran passed the room, completely missing them. Doofenshmirtz peered through. "Wow," he laughed, "And I thought these things held at least a bit of intelligence. At least Dennis waited to sniff around the place."

"They'll probably be back," Phineas said, "Anyways, what is this place?"

Doofenshmirtz looked around. "Looks like Monogram's office," he said, "Very convenient! I'd like to figure out what this is all about, and what he's planning. Knowing Monogram," he went over by Monogram's desk, and began looking through papers piled up in an unorganized fashion, "He's probably oafish enough to leave something important."

Phineas shrugged. "Can't argue with-" he looked to a corner, "-Ah, sweet, he has a bunch of mechanical parts! I can use that!"

Phineas took out a screwdriver. Doofenshmirtz stared. "...You had a screwdriver with you this whole time?"

"Uh, yeah?" Phineas blinked, "I always bring a screwdriver with me."

"You do realize that we could have used that to escape instead of wasting our time with the keys, right?"

"...Oh."

Doofenshmirtz rolled his eyes as he looked back to the papers and blueprints. "And you started trying to beat me up for wasting YOUR time. Had you brought up the tool to begin with, you wouldn't have had to...to..."

Phineas looked up, have already gotten to work with one of the devices. "What's wrong?"

"...Nothing," Doofenshmirtz said, "Just...do whatever it is you were doing...you know, if it helps us. Otherwise, keep an eye out for those mutants, just in case they DO come back."

Phineas shrugged, and went back to work. Doofenshmirtz continued to stare at the particular blueprint in his hand. This one was clearly HIS design; it was in his handwriting, after all. But...had he ever...

"...Amnesia-inator..." Doofenshmirtz murmured to himself, "...Where have...I..."

**_You don't remember, do you? After all this time; after all the hints, you still don't get it._**

Doofenshmirtz flinched. _"Ugh, not this again...curse you Meddleshmirtz, or voice in my head, or whatever you are..."_

_**You claim to be smart, yet you dance around the obvious constantly. Allow me to riddle you, Heinrich.**_

Doofenshmirtz remained silent as the voice went on in his head.

_**The last time we met, you were trying to murder Phineas for being in your precious child's room. In there, you started seeing something. Think really hard about what that was, and what it meant; I'll give you a clue.**_

_"Daddy the machines, what are you..."_

_"I'm FIXING them!"_

Doofenshmirtz grabbed his head, his brain spinning. Phineas looked back again, starting to grow a little concerned. Like he did in the Chandelier Room. Like he did when he entered his father's workshop. Just as Doofenshmirtz recalled...just...as...

_"Daddy?"_

"HUH?!"

"Doofenshmirtz," Phineas asked, "Seriously, you're acting weird. Are you alright?"

Doofenshmirtz stared at Phineas for a long time. Phineas kept trying to get his attention to see if he was alright. _Phineas fearfully gasped as his father raised up his wrench, ready to smack him. _Doofenshmirtz shook his head. "I-I," he shook his head, "It's...nothing," he looked away, "Nothing at all..."

"Doofenshmirtz, I don't think you're-"

_"Dad, I don't know if that's-"_

Doofenshmirtz felt himself hyperventilating when he really wasn't. He wasn't actually showing any real emotion; not like what he was currently feeling inside. That is, until Phineas kept prodding on and on, filled with concern for the one he hated a few minutes ago. Why did that stupid kid seem to care about every little thing? Doofenshmirtz couldn't have given him that, could-wait. Given? You mean as in genetically?

Was it genetically?

"Doofenshmirtz-?"

"I SAID I'M FINE!" "-_YOU STUPID LITTLE BRAT! DON'T YOU DARE TALK BACK TO YOUR ELDERS!"_

Phineas looked taken aback. So did Doofenshmirtz. "...Okay," Phineas said defensively, "If you're alright, then, I'll back off. Sorry."

Phineas went back to work. Doofenshmirtz stared. He folded the blueprints for the Amnesia-inator, and put them in his pocket. He felt something in there. _"Oh yeah," _Doofenshmirtz thought, _"I almost forgot about that...let...ter..."_

_**Now are you willing to face reality? Or are you going to constantly be bellyaching about the whole ordeal? Pretending that it doesn't matter? That you don't care?**_

_**Are you ready? Then say it.**_

_"...I'm Phineas's father."_

"Got it!" Phineas lifted up the weapon; the grappling hook was now doubling as a laser-canon, "Laser to the max!"

The weapon discharged, creating a hole in the wall. Phineas stared. "...AWESOME!" he cheered, "This is better than I imagined it! And it still works as a grappling hook; two for the price of one!"

Phineas looked out the door. "Hm...but it doesn't look like they're coming back," he looked to Doofenshmirtz, "Maybe they really are stupid, like you said."

"...Yeah," Doofenshmirtz said, looking out the door as well, "Stupid..."

"Did you find anything useful?"

"...Not really," Doofenshmirtz said, "Just some useless blueprints and files. Nothing of any remote of interest. We should probably move on then, huh?"

Phineas nodded. "Let's get going," he said, going ahead of Doofenshmirtz, who followed soon after, shaking off whatever thoughts he had before, except one.

_"I'm Phineas's father."_

**.**

**.**

**.**

_"Let. Me. GO!" Schnitzel struggled in Monogram's grip, "I don't care WHO you think you are, this is NO WAY to treat-!"_

_"-Don't be so clichéd, Alice," Monogram said intimidatingly, "I'd keep that mouth shut tight until I'm done."_

_Schnitzel shrunk back, whimpering in terror. Doofenshmirtz, with his wrists bound, glared knives at his long-time rival. "Leave her out of this!" he yelled, "This is between you and me, Francis! She didn't do anything!"_

_"Ah, but that's the thing," he said, "She's a witness; which means I'm going to have to deal with her as much as deal with you."_

_"Heinz," Schnitzel looked confused, "What's he talking about?"_

_Monogram began to smile sadistically. "Allow me to show you both," he motioned to Carl, who stood on a platform by a giant, tarp-covered machine. Carl pressed a button on a panel, and a giant metal claw went and tore the cover away, revealing a large laser._

_Doofenshmirtz looked terrified. The most he had ever been. And just looking at her friend that way, made Schnitzel even more scared. "What is that?!" she asked, "What's going on?! What are you-?!"_

_"Behold! The Amnesia-inator!" Monogram looked to Doofenshmirtz haughtily, "One that you designed, Heinz. Of course, I did the work. You should be thanking me..."_

_"You stole my blueprints," Doofenshmirtz spat, "I don't have ANYTHING to be saying to you!"_

_"Ah, that hurts," Monogram smirked, "But it really doesn't matter, does it? You'll be helping me, either way."_

_"What do you mean?" Schnitzel glared, "You tried getting him to help you once, and he flat-out pummeled you. What makes you think a couple of ropes are gonna keep him from murdering you, now?"_

_"You have too much faith in him, Alice," Monogram smirked, "In any case, I need some help with testing out the machine. Nothing too drastic."_

_"Don't even think about-!"_

_"Oh, who said anything about Heinz going first?" Monogram grinned, "After all, the term is, 'ladies first' am I right?"_

_"Don't you dare hurt her!" Doofenshmirtz yelled, "Let her go!"_

_"What's the matter, Heinz? Can't stand anyone else harming your precious little punching bag? Or should I call her a concubine, yes?"_

_"Ex-CUSE me?! CONCUBINE?! Why you-!" Schnitzel rose up her foot, and slammed it down on Monogram's, who yelped in pain, and released Schnitzel in the process. Schnitzel ran straight to Doofenshmirtz, trying to unbound him from his ropes._

_"C'mon, c'mon..."_

_"Hurry, Alice!"_

_"I'm trying! These knots-!"_

_"CARL!"_

_The intern went ahead and started up the machine upon request. He looked a little nervous, however, as his aim wasn't exactly the best at times. "DO IT NOW!"_

_"ALICE!"_

_"I got it!" _

_Schnitzel untied Doofenshmirtz._

_Carl fired the machine._

_Monogram ducked for cover._

_Doofenshmirtz pushed Schnitzel out of the way._

_Schnitzel hit her head on something metal._

_And the next thing either of them knew was that they woke up, back in the medical bay, wondering if what had happened was a dream or not. They never discussed it to each other. Ever. What was there to discuss? It wasn't real, anyway._

**.**

**.**

**.**

"SCHNITZEL!"

Doofenshmirtz suddenly stopped in his tracks. "What?"

"Look!" Phineas pointed to a glass wall, "It's Schnitzel!"

The next thing Phineas knew was that Doofenshmirtz practically shoved him out of the way, planting his face onto the glass. Within the room on the other side was nothing but water, as if the corridor was an aquarium. Within the tank-like room was also a moss-colored serpent with large fins, and a familiar looking woman, swimming for dear life. Phineas peered through the window.

"SCHNITZEL!?" Doofenshmirtz and Phineas yelled in shock.

Schnitzel, in spite all the water in her ears, heard them clearly (or managed to see them as she swam passed) and opened her mouth as if to greet them...which was a bad idea, as her lungs immediately filled with water, and she quickly blacked out. The serpent soon after launched itself, chomping down on Schnitzel full. Phineas let out a bit of a shriek, while Doofenshmirtz stared, his jaw dropping at the scene. Suddenly, little bumps began to appear on the serpent's mouth, which soon after was pride open by the ever frantic Schnitzel.

Phineas and Doofenshmirtz sighed in relief. The younger one stared at the older one in shock, before slowly smirking. The older one took notice immediately. "...What?"

As Schnitzel continued to flee for her life, the sea serpent continued its chase. Bubbles left Schnitzel's mouth as she screamed underwater, mouthing the words, "GET ME OUTTA HERE!"

"She needs help!" Phineas said.

Doofenshmirtz glared. "Oh, no, duh!" he rolled his eye, "And you mock me for stating the obvious."

Phineas glared back. "Well, if you're gonna be so high and mighty now," he retorted, "What are we gonna do?!"

The sound of muted stampeding was heard from the halls behind Phineas and Doofenshmirtz. The two slowly turned, and saw the eyes of Dennis the Rabbit, as well as several other beasts, running straight for them. The dictator and the child hugged each other and shrieked. "WILL THEY EVER GIVE UP?!" Doofenshmirtz yelled in frustration.

"Great! Now we have three problems! As if escaping wasn't enough!" Phineas yelled, "At this rate we'll never be able to figure out how to break Schnitzel-"

"WAIT! That's it!" Doofenshmirtz grinned, "Hold still, Phineas."

"What?!"

"Hold still! Trust me!"

"B-but-!"

"I know you don't like me, and I don't like you, but so far my plans have been working, so please! Trust me!"

Phineas stared at Doofenshmirtz, who looked completely sincere. The boy gulped, and held his ground as told. The monsters sped up. The serpent sped up. Schnitzel sped up to the point of jumping of of the water like a dolphin, only to be trapped in the monster's mouth once again.

She screamed.

So did Phineas, as Doofenshmirtz suddenly pulled himself and Phineas out of the way, just seconds before the monsters collided with them. In their place was the glass wall, which shattered on impact, draining the sea monster and Schnitzel out of the tank. The hall filled with water, nearly drowning anyone within the depths of it. Once the water drained out, those unable to breathe under water gasped for breath. Schnitzel looked shifty eyed all around, as if looking for the sea serpent, who was nowhere to be seen. Odd...

The woman looked down to her feet, gasping in horror at the sight of the still angered serpent. She fled from the top of it's snout before it could deal anymore damage to her. She sighed in relief once in a "respectful" distance from the beast.

"SCHNITZEL!"

The woman was filled with so much bliss at the sound of Doofenshmirtz's voice. Speaking of whom, in one arm appeared to be Phineas, who was still coughing from the quick flood, while the other quickly reached for Schnitzel herself. "HANG ON!"

Schnitzel obeyed, grabbing onto Doofenshmirtz with Phineas following her actions soon after, freeing both of Doofenshmirtz's hands. Quickly, Doofenshmirtz took Phineas's newly upgraded grappling hook, and shot it onto an opening on the ceiling. Pulling himself, Phineas, and Schnitzel upward, the other monsters trying to jump up and bite onto them in rage. Doofenshmirtz then reached into his pocket for Carl's tazer, turned it on, and dropped it to the floor below.

The roomed filled with electricity, and the monsters screamed in pain and agony. Phineas and Schnitzel looked away, cringing at the sound, while Doofenshmirtz stared, waiting patiently for the electricity to die out. Minutes later, the waves of electricity ceased, and the monster, all burnt to a crisp, lied on the ground, motionless. The serpent that wanted Schnitzel for it's meal looked dead. The tazer was completely destroyed.

Doofenshmirtz, Phineas, and Schnitzel slowly descended from the air, and landed on the ground. Doofenshmirtz pulled back the hook from the weapon, and grinned. "This thing works wonders, kid!" he admitted.

Phineas smirked. "Told you it would come in handy," he said triumphantly.

Schnitzel hugged Doofenshmirtz around the neck, pulling him over to her, shocking him. "My hero!" she kissed him on the cheek before realizing what she did, "...Uh...he-he..."

She released Doofenshmirtz, whose face reddened. "Wh-what did you-?"

"Nothing!"

Phineas snickered a bit, earning a glare from Schnitzel. "Shut it, you stupid kid!" she said, before smirking, "Though to be fair," she lifted the kid up and began to noogie him; Phineas laughed, "I'm actually glad you're alive, ya pipsqueak! You two worried me sick!"

"Enough of this," Doofenshmirtz shook his head, coughing a bit as the redness turned to a very light pink, "We have to find a way out of here. Today's been crazy enough as is."

"I know," Schnitzel sighed, "I just wanna get out of here and forget we ever found this place."

Doofenshmirtz smirked. "And we can," he stated, "Once we blow this place up, and get rid of Monobrow once and for all."

Schnitzel grinned at this. She never thought that she would miss Doofenshmirtz's insane, sadistic mind. "Then let's go!" she said, "Before something else happens that we have to worry about!"

That's when the creatures began shuddering violently. Doofenshmirtz, Phineas, and Schnitzel looked around, shocked. "What the-?" Schnitzel gasped, "They're still alive?!" she looked to the sea serpent, who remained still, "Aside from that thing, thank God, but-"

"We have to go," Doofenshmirtz began to run ahead of Phineas and Schnitzel, "NOW!"

The other two followed after the dictator, just as the mutants began to get back to their feet and legs. The three were about to turn a corner, before meeting up with a handless Dennis, who was back for revenge. Its eyes glowed red with rage, as did the mutants blocking their path from behind. Doofenshmirtz stared in shock.

"...Ah, crud."

**A/N:**

**Muwahahahahaha! More cliffhangers! I love them so! XD**

**I'm really proud of what I did here. I actually really am. This is now one of my favorite chapters, I think...even though I made Doof a little OOC here, I think. Then again, he kinda just learned that...nah. I'm not gonna say for those who just came for the A/N. XD**

**Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed! I know I did writing it!**

**Read, Review, and Follow, please!**

**-GTS is out! Peace!**


	29. The Obvious Truth: Part 6

**...I'm running out of things to say...about time! XD**

**Oh, but while we're at it, I'm working on a side-story to this called "The Memories We Shared". Something for fun, of course; it revolves around Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel and their lives before the events of this story that you're currently reading. If your interested, then go check it out if you want! :)**

**Enjoy the story! :)**

**P/F/P/F**

_That's when the creatures began shuddering violently. Doofenshmirtz, Phineas, and Schnitzel looked around, shocked. "What the-?" Schnitzel gasped, "They're still alive?!" she looked to the sea serpent, who remained still, "Aside from that thing, thank God, but-"_

_"We have to go," Doofenshmirtz began to run ahead of Phineas and Schnitzel, "NOW!"_

_The other two followed after the dictator, just as the mutants began to get back to their feet and legs. The three were about to turn a corner, before meeting up with a handless Dennis, who was back for revenge. Its eyes glowed red with rage, as did the mutants blocking their path from behind. Doofenshmirtz stared in shock._

_"...Ah, crud."_

(~)

**The Obvious Truth (Part 6)**

"Well, this day has been FULL of that sense of Deja Vu. We got caught by the enemy, we're without defense, and Monogram's here...and man, he's ugly."

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel stared at Phineas, who seemed to be talking to himself than to anyone else. Monogram, who stood a few ways away, wasn't very happy with the kid. Phineas didn't seem fazed at all, given that he didn't even notice the expressions that he had drawn. "...That kid talks way too much for his own good," Schnitzel muttered to Doofenshmirtz.

The dictator shrugged. "He's got a point though," Doofenshmirtz stated, "Monogram isn't exactly the most appealing person in the world."

The doctor had to nod at this, almost smiling. "Yeah, that IS true..."

"...The only difference," Phineas went on, "Is that you," he looked to Monogram, "took away my laser instead of destroying it. I'd like that back, by the way, once this is over."

Monogram rolled his eyes at this. "If you're done talking to yourselves," he said, "Then I'd be happy to get down to business."

Doofenshmirtz looked unimpressed by the situation at hand; in spite being surrounded by the creatures who had brought them here to begin with. The mutants who were somehow immune to literally everything, including Phineas's laser, which had blasted through a wall previously. Okay, first of all, how the heck did a chainsaw manage to effect them, but not a laser? And secondly, what were these things made of aside from animal flesh and blood, anyway?

"This scenario seems all too familiar," Doofenshmirtz stated flatly, "Someone tries to get me to do something for them, I refuse, and then they threaten to do something awful or horrendous," he laughed, "And then I proceed to destroy their 'empires' and stuff...very entertaining."

"Laugh all you like," Monogram spat, "But I'm the one holding the reigns this time. This time, you're in a tight spot that you can't escape."

"Oh, but I will," Doofenshmirtz said rather smugly, "I always do, _Francis_. But, curiosity does compel- -exactly what is it that you want? For me to help you build a mundane object, that would help you 'take over the world', or some crap like that? Doubt it would even work, considering-"

Monogram grabbed Doofenshmirtz by the collar, shutting him up. This didn't seem to strike any fear at all, though. Doofenshmirtz seemed rather humored, in fact. "Do you comprehend your own situation?" Monogram asked, "I can kill you right now if I wanted to."

"Yeah," Doofenshmirtz said, "But you won't. Because I'm the only one who can get what you want. Which, by the way, its rude not to answer a question."

Schnitzel began to snicker at this. That's when Phineas noticed something about her as well; she seemed to be enjoying this just as much as Doofenshmirtz. He thought that they would be completely enraged by Monogram's presence, like Doofenshmirtz had been before with Carl. Maybe they were, or at least Doofenshmirtz was. He had every reason to believe that Schnitzel may be terrified of Monogram, like she was for Doofenshmirtz.

Monogram released Doofenshmirtz, a dark look in his eyes that made Phineas take a step back. It was like the look Doofenshmirtz gave, only he had the blessing of having two eyes, which seemed to do twice the damage. However, Doofenshmirtz was unfazed, and simply smiled. "So," Doofenshmirtz went on, "Are you gonna tell us what you have in mind, or are you gonna just keep sounding like Dr. Coconut, over there?"

"HEY!" Carl piped up from Monogram's side, still sparking from his electrocution, "For the last time, my name is not-!"

"Dr. Coconut~! Look out~! Here he comes~!" Schnitzel sang happily, bobbing her head. Carl's face suddenly reddened at this, before Schnitzel began to laugh at him. "Priceless! Haha!"

"I see your concubine hasn't change a bit..." Monogram spat.

Schnitzel glared. "Now, THAT is rude," she stated, "I am more than just a mere toy for the eyes!"

"Toy for the eyes...?" Phineas blinked.

"Uh...you'll understand when your older," Schnitzel said, waving it off dismissively, "In any case, you're still dodging the question. What do you want with us?"

"Simple," Monogram smirked, "I want to help you."

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel were suddenly taken aback. Phineas looked completely confused, perhaps even angered by this. "...What the hell are you going on about?" Phineas asked, "I don't think trapping us and nearly getting us killed warrantees an 'I want to help you'."

"Inquisitive," Monogram smirked, looking at Doofenshmirtz, "Like someone else I know..."

Doofenshmirtz stared, piecing it all together. The blueprints, the vague memories, the truth...Monogram _knew _all along. About his connections with Phineas, about everything in between. He had to have. Why else would he have that look?

Schnitzel eyed Monogram. "And what exactly would you even help us with?" she asked, "Even if we believed that load of bull, that is."

"Its simple enlightenment, really," Monogram stated, "Something that you've been...experiencing throughout your 'misadventure', let's call it. But let's not delve too much into detail just yet. How about I introduce you to a particular device, hm? Carl, if you will..."

"Called it," Doofenshmirtz muttered to Phineas and Schnitzel; now that Phineas thought about it, the way Doofenshmirtz seemed felt off. Ever since they left Monogram's office, he had been acting strange. Like he was trying to hide something that just couldn't be hidden well enough. Or maybe it was just nothing, and the thought of even seeing his greatest rival, maybe even enemy, was just getting on his nerves.

"Right away sir," Carl said, running over to a large machine covered in tarp.

Taking a good look at the device, Doofenshmirtz's eye widened, and he felt his blood drain, piecing together something else he had been remembering. Phineas was the first to notice this, as he had put his main focus on him during their trip to the giant room, which was a lot like a laboratory. "...Doofenshmirtz...?" Phineas blinked, "Are you alright...?"

Doofenshmirtz didn't answer. The tarp fell off, and Schnitzel began to stare, as if in a trance of some kind. "That...what?" she blinked in confusion, "Where...where have I...?"

"...The Amnesia-inator," Doofenshmirtz breathed, "It...its still...operable?"

"Amnesia-inator?" Phineas blinked, "Still operable? What's going on?"

"Simple," Monogram stated, "You see, Phineas, this isn't their first time entering the underground base. In fact, they've entered here several times in the past."

"What?" Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel said in unison, giving each other glances of confusion.

"The only difference now, is that they brought you here," Monogram stated, analyzing Phineas just by looking at him, "But the ending is no different. It brings a very good feeling to leave you in the dark, Heinz."

"...You've been erasing our memories," Doofenshmirtz said, "That's why we never shut this place down years ago, and why we never found you. Every time we did, you'd find us out, and-"

"-Erase all traces of the memories," Monogram finished, "Every single time, one of you, or a Cyborg, or even a Norm-Bot would find this place, and you two would climb down and try to figure out who could be behind the secret base. You would always assume it to be me, and you always have the same reaction. It may seem rather repetitive, but it never gets old."

Monogram grinned at Phineas, who, without proper knowledge of why, felt a wave of eeriness. "This time, however," Monogram went on, as he circled around Phineas, "We get a bit of a twist. I focused so much on Doofenshmirtz, and even on his precious little concubine-("I am not a concu-!")-that I didn't expect you to follow them here. Interesting. I've never tried the machine on a child before..."

"Leave him out of this..."

Phineas and Monogram looked to Doofenshmirtz, who bit his bottom lip for speaking at all. Schnitzel was, by now, starting to sense that something was wrong. "Heinz...?"

"Why?" Monogram asked, "Because he didn't do anything? Like Alice did, when you first stumbled in here by mistake?"

"Mistake...you stole..." Doofenshmirtz squeezed his eye shut. He was starting to get a migraine from all of this...wait...had...if this all happened before, then...what if he found out the truth several times before? That Phineas... "How many times did we come here...?"

"About twelve," Monogram stated, "I'm impressed you noticed this place at all, let alone that number. Then again, it is you, Heinz. You're a worthy adversary of mind and strength, I'll give you that."

"And when you meant by helping..." Doofenshmirtz shook his head, "No. I'm not doing that again."

Monogram smirked. "You don't have a choice," he stated, "You attempt to escape, and you always fail, one way or another. And it always ends with you losing your memory, and us sending you back to your base."

"But how?" Schnitzel asked, "The Norm-Bots and Cyborgs would have noticed you, and they never said anything about the mutants or you and Carl running amok."

"Ah, yes," Monogram stated, "But they _have_ noticed the two Norm-Bots that Doofenshmirtz always brought with him to this site to keep a look out in case things go wrong. Which I took the courtesy of rewiring to assure that any information they themselves had retained from whatever they saw remained."

Doofenshmirtz stayed silent, mentally scorning himself for the flaw he himself created. Then again, he and Schnitzel would probably have been kept prisoners, or probably killed off right on the spot had they not come. Would that even matter, if it meant that the Cyborgs would have probably come to take Monogram down themselves along with the Norm-Bots? Would they even stand a chance to these things surrounding them, growling madly, hungrily? He looked to Schnitzel, who looked around, sharing identical thoughts no doubt.

Phineas took this time to look directly at Carl, and then at his laser grappling hook, having been placed back on the nerd's belt. Phineas began thinking carefully back what he should do, and fast; they didn't have much time. The moment Monogram's attention was completely on Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel, Phineas began to slowly follow Carl, who was too busy taking off the tarp of the machine at last to notice the boy quickly tip-toing over to his location. The mutants were too busy listening to Monogram to even notice Phineas leaving their sight.

"And now, here we are," Monogram went on, "Once again. Any more questions before I wipe your memories clean?"

"Uh..." Schnitzel gave a cheesy grin, "Will you let us go, please?"

"After I erase your memories, I will release you."

"Wait," Doofenshmirtz blinked, "That doesn't make any sense. You hate me; if you let Schnitzel go, that would make some sense I suppose, but why would you spare my life?"

"I have my reasons, of course," Monogram said, "I want you alive to witness my greatest achievement, after I finally overpower you. Afterwards, maybe I'll end your miserable life then, or you'll live forever knowing that you failed to outdo me."

"He WILL outdo you," Schnitzel spat, "He always does! You may be around the same intelligence, but you never beat him! You always liked to pretend that you could win anything Heinz could, but-!"

Monogram practically grabbed Schnitzel's face when he pulled her over, irritably. "Still annoying," he growled, "Nothing ever changes..." he threw her against Doofenshmirtz, and the two fell over, glaring at Monogram, who began to smirk again, "You can't beat what you don't see coming."

Carl snickered; just as Phineas snuck up right behind him. "You got that right, si-AH!"

All eyes went to Carl, who was tackled down by Phineas. Phineas was able to tear off the laser grappling hook from Carl before the teen pushed him off and pinned him down. Phineas kicked the other in the stomach, pushed him off, and aimed his weapon at the Amnesia-inator. However, Carl grabbed the boys' wrists, and the weapon fired at a different angle, hitting a wall.

Doofenshmirtz, Schnitzel, and Monogram ducked down a bit at the discharge before the dictator smirked at the former major. "Well," Doofenshmirtz said, "Probably should have hand-cuffed us, huh? Or did your budget not cover it?"

Monogram growled, and turned to one of his creations, one that looked like a cross between a parrot and a lizard. "YOU!" he pointed, "Get that brat down from there!"

The parrot lizard, who Doofenshmirtz could swear was agent L, also known as Lenard the Lizard, quickly zipped into the air, shooting straight for Phineas. However, Phineas smirked directly at the creature, and threw himself and Carl down the metal stairs. Lenard gasped and crashed into the bars, and the movable stairs, which had the control panel of the device, lightly tapped the Amnesia-inator. Phineas and Carl landed at the bottom with a thud, the two of them groaning in pain, though Phineas fought through the agony and lifted himself to his feet, and pointed the weapon at Carl.

"One move," Phineas threatened, "Just. One. And I will blast your head to smithereens! Got it, Dr. Coco?"

"It's Dr. Coconut- -I mean, Carl! URGH!" the nerd glared, "And you wouldn't dare-!"

Lenard flew straight for Phineas and Carl, screeching a noise that made everyone cringe. Phineas shot his head up, aimed the weapon, and shot out the grappling hook, which tied around the mutant's neck. Although he wasn't the strongest, Phineas still had some muscle, which developed from all the work he had to do at DEI. He managed to slam the creature down to the ground, which broke its neck with a crack. Phineas held back his disgust, and retracted the hook, his eyes back on Carl, who had been too shocked to move. Phineas pointed the weapon at Carl's face once again, glaring.

Schnitzel began to laugh, almost nervously. "Wow!" she clapped, "Didn't know he had it in him, he-he!"

Doofenshmirtz stared in amazement. He didn't know that either...he flashed out of thought as he noticed Monogram walking over to Phineas, threateningly. Phineas saw this, and turned to aim his weapon at Monogram. "Don't even think about it!"

"Leaving your back completely defenseless?" Monogram scoffed, "Such recklessness."

With that being said, Phineas stepped on Carl's chest, and pushed him down, growling at Monogram, who remained completely calm in stature. Just like Doofenshmirtz had acted when they first met; like he always acted. The only difference was that behind the dictator's single eye was a trapped soul, begging his only child for forgiveness of not being there fast enough. These eyes were completely and utterly cruel, blocking any soul from entering or exiting. There was some humanity- -if Phineas had learned anything from his encounter with Doofenshmirtz, or even Schnitzel, its that no matter how vicious and cruel you were, you still were a human being with feelings. Its just that, at least currently, the feelings that Monogram had projected was a fierce look of arrogance that Phineas had been graced with too many times these past months.

Phineas swallowed a lump in his throat, his bravado shrinking as Monogram came closer. He prepared to fire his weapon, his finger on the trigger. What was so terrifying about Monogram, anyway? Was it that eerie similarity to Doofenshmirtz; or the gut-wrenching feeling that there was something even more evil within the former major than in the cruel, sadistic dictator? What could be worse than an evil dictator? Why was he so scared?

That's when Monogram took out his weapon, which was yet another taser that was almost just like Carl's. A taser against a gun? What good would that be? Phineas simply stared in wonder.

Doofenshmirtz took a small step forward.

"You know," Monogram said, "I know a lot about you, Phineas. A lot more than you think."

Phineas blinked. Had he ever told Monogram his name? If Carl said anything, had he even told Carl? His brain wasn't working; all he cared about was getting out of there. That was his main objective. Getting out of this mess once and for all.

"For example, your...heredity," Monogram stated, "Your the brother of Candace Flynn, are you not?"

Phineas was taken aback. Wait. What? He knew Candace?

"And how is your mother doing, by the way?"

Phineas glared harder. "Shut up," he said, "I know what you're doing. You're just trying to get in my head, so you can electrocute me with that taser of yours. Its not gonna work."

"That didn't answer my question," Monogram said, "But fine, fine. You wouldn't know, since you left her by herself."

Phineas's hand began to shake from the rage building up inside him. Monogram went on, "Then there's your brother, Ferb-"

"-He's in England," Phineas quickly said irritably, "You don't know anything!"

Monogram simply chuckled, and moved on, inching forward without Phineas fully realizing it. "And your step-father?"

"He-he's...he's..." Phineas squeezed his eyes shut, still aiming the weapon, "Just. Quit. It."

"Oh, I don't need to know that he's already dead," Monogram stated; Phineas's eyes shot open and he glared fiercely, "I was just curious if you knew that he's not even your blood-related father."

"That never mattered," Phineas whispered, "He's still my dad, even if I didn't get to know him long enough. You're just toying with me right now, and I will kill you if you try anything."

Monogram hummed a bit at this, looking at his weapon as he held it with both of his hands. On the other hand, Phineas was wondering if he could even gather up the needed bravado to actually kill the former major before him. "...And what do you think," Monogram asked, "Your father would say to that."

"My...father," Phineas blinked; what the heck did that mean.

"Your true, blood father, that is. What would he say to getting a replacement, hm? That you've had a different parent standing in his place."

Phineas began staring in thought, a surge of guilt filling him while Doofenshmirtz was standing right behind Monogram, feeling the urge to strangle this guy to death. Did he have a right to care now that he knew that Phineas was his son? Maybe. Did he have a right to act after causing his own son the most pain so far? Possibly. Was he being shallow? Absolutely. But did any of that even matter to him? Not even close.

Schnitzel stared for a moment, wondering what she should do. She looked at the Amnesia-inator, and let out a small gasp before she began to run towards it, only to be blocked off by the mutants. Schnitzel began to back away, only to bump into a chest of fur. She looked up, and saw Dennis growling, and feeling slobber drip down on her face. She cringed in disgust and fear as she began to think of ways to escape her predicament. She looked back to Doofenshmirtz, and then to Phineas, feeling something in her break as she heard Monogram speak those words to the poor kid.

Ugh, she had grown soft...not to say that she was never soft in the past, but she swore she was practically a marshmallow now! Schnitzel looked back to Dennis, who began to grin at her. Schnitzel chuckled nervously. "Uh...can...we...talk about this?" she asked, "I mean...I know that-AH"

Schnitzel ducked down as Dennis leaned down to bite her head off. She slid under the creature's hind legs, and began to run from the monsters chasing after her. No one seemed to notice, much to her disgruntlement.

"Perhaps," Monogram gave a glance behind, "I should tell him..."

Phineas's eyes widened. "Wh-what do you-...What do you know about-?!"

Monogram immediately turned around, and stabbed his weapon at Doofenshmirtz, who barely dodged. The dictator grabbed onto the handle, and began to fight Monogram for the weapon. Phineas simply stared, entranced. Doofenshmirtz turned. "Phineas, GO!" he yelled, "NOW!"

Phineas flinched, before Carl finally took action, and flipped Phineas off of him. Carl growled. "I refuse to be treated like a-WAH!" Carl found himself being tied up by the grappling hook, and was flipped onto his head, knocking him out. Phineas retracted the hook again, and looked over to Schnitzel, who was fending off the mutants with a wooden chair.

"Back!" Schnitzel yelled, "All of you, stay back!"

She smacked a lion mutant with the chair, and it whimpered, backing away. Many of the mutants went and attacked the lion mutant for being so scared, while the other continued for Schnitzel, who stood her ground. Phineas gulped, and then looked to the Amnesia-inator. He ran over to the movable stairs and began to climb up. Monogram turned to notice this as he slammed Doofenshmirtz onto the wall, threatening to zap him on the neck.

"What are you doing?!" Monogram yelled to the mutants after seeing Carl completely unconscious once again, "Stop him!"

The mutants who had completely destroyed the lion mutant went straight for Phineas. Those small enough to climb up after him, which were a monkey mutant and the rat with wings, did. Phineas began looking for a self-destruct button, or anything that would be able to destroy the device, before he noticed the creatures out to get him. Schnitzel saw this and gasped. "NO!" she yelled, "Don't go after him, you mangy, whatever you things are!"

Doofenshmirtz pushed Monogram off, and knocked him to the ground, pushing the weapon towards his neck. "I will destroy you," Doofenshmirtz hissed, "What did you do to me?"

Monogram smirked. "I only did what you asked me to do long ago," he stated, "I helped you forget. That's what that device was for- -to help you forget. Right?"

Doofenshmirtz pushed harder. "You're nothing," he said, "You're worthless, Francis."

"Says the monster who failed as a father."

Phineas was knocked over by the two mutants, while the bigger ones began to shake the movable stairs with their weight. Phineas aim the weapon at the monkey, who began screaming into his face. He stuck the nozzle into its head, and fired, making a hole, and knocking it over. The rat with wings began to scratch at Phineas's face before the boy grabbed its tail and whipped it, breaking its spine like a frog, and killing it instantly. Phineas struggled to stand from the shaking, but managed to notice that the Amnesia-inator was also shaking as well. Phineas rose the dead mouse in his hand, and shook it to grab the mutants attention.

"HEY!" Phineas yelled, tossing it onto the -inator, "FETCH!"

The hunger in the mutants stomachs made this irresistible. Phineas ran for dear life, and ended up toppling over as the mutants leapt over the platform stairs, and landed on the machine. It began to tip over from the added weight. Phineas squeezed onto one side of the stairs as it landed on the other, and panted from shock before he heard the Amnesia-inator collapse. Phineas clutched his chest, and sighed in relief.

Monogram looked absolutely horrified. "NO!" he yelled, "You idiot, look what you-!"

_Zzzzzzzttttttt_

"AAAAAA-bleeeeeh-ZZ-greeeaaat googly-ZZ-moogly~..." Monogram went limp, flinching only slightly. Doofenshmirtz tore the weapon away, and stood, smirking. "Left your back unprotected?" he asked mockingly, "Monobrow, I am ashamed; you know better than that."

"STAY! BACK!"

Doofenshmirtz and Phineas turned to Schnitzel, who was beating the living daylights out of one of the mutants, while the others simply stared. "DOWN! DOWN! DOWN!" Schnitzel yelled in anger.

Phineas walked over to Doofenshmirtz, and glanced over to him. "Uh...is...is she...?"

"Probably had enough of this day," Doofenshmirtz stated, as Schnitzel finally crushed the mutant's head, earning a look of disgust from Phineas, "Not that I blame her. I just...ugh...I just want to go home..."

Doofenshmirtz rubbed his temples, before Phineas grabbed the taser from him, sending it flying. "Schnitzel, heads up!"

Schnitzel looked over, reached out, and caught the laser staff. She glared at the other mutants, who seemed to grow horrified at the weapon. Schnitzel suddenly had the look of a happy mad-man, as she began to vent the day away by mercilessly electrocuting the monsters, laughing psychotically. Doofenshmirtz and Phineas stared, and were for once completely terrified of her. "...Maybe I shouldn't have done that?" Phineas blinked.

"Uh...wow," Doofenshmirtz chuckled a bit.

One by one, the mutants began to flee, and soon the room was nearly empty of them, with the few who decided to hide behind several objects still lingering. Schnitzel began to pant heavily, before she let out a calm sigh, waving her hand away from her chest. "...Well," Schnitzel smiled at Doofenshmirtz and Phineas brightly, "Now that that's over with, how about we get back home, so Schnitzel can sleep this day off, hm?"

The three nodded at this, and began to head back to the exit, which they found moments later. They stared at the ladder out. "...Are you frigging serious?!" Doofenshmirtz yelled in pure anger, "Are you telling me, that if we headed the other direction, we would have gotten out of this sooner?!"

"Wait," Schnitzel looked to Phineas, "You came from that direction..." she grabbed Phineas by his shirt, "YOU KNEW?!"

Phineas stared up at Schnitzel blankly, not answering the question. Doofenshmirtz twitched, then sighed. "Okay," he said, trying to calm himself down, "Let's just get the hell out of here, and agree to never speak of it again."

"Yes," Phineas said.

"Fine by me," Schnitzel said as she released Phineas, and headed for the ladder, "For God's sake, I nearly got eaten today, by some weird sea-monster thingy..."

Schnitzel shuddered, before she began to climb, since no one else was. Doofenshmirtz smirked at Phineas, who glanced up at him. "...What?" Phineas blinked.

"So you _do_ have some back-bone, after all," Doofenshmirtz said, "Didn't expect you to pull a stunt like that. And what an impressive stunt that was.

Phineas rolled his eyes, smiling at the sudden praise. "Yeah, well," he said, "I've been surviving for a reason. How do you think I escaped from your Norm-Bots for so long? I'm not a complete wimp."

"Sure," Doofenshmirtz nodded, "Not completely."

"And when I say that," Phineas said, "I mean not at all."

"Sure," Doofenshmirtz nodded more sarcastically this time, "Keep telling yourself that, pipsqueak."

Phineas smirked, punching Doofenshmirtz in the side, eliciting a snicker from the dictator before he began to make his climb up the ladder. Phineas paused a bit as he began to piece something together himself. Not a memory, but a realization.

...Oh, god, he was friends with a dictator now?!

Phineas shook it off and kept climbing, followed by Doofenshmirtz, who was still thinking about all he had learned in the secret base. _"I'm his father...I...I don't..." _Doofenshmirtz let out another relaxed sigh, _"Okay. Okay. Maybe this isn't as bad as you think it is, Heinz. This doesn't change a thing- -you're still out for conquest. You're still gonna take down the Resis...tance...oh, god, that means Candace is-AUGH! My brain...why do these things always happen to me...?"_

_**You ARE gonna tell him, right?**_

_"...Tell him?"_

**_Yeeeessss? You're not gonna just chicken out on that, and let him figure it out on his own, right?_**

_"..."_

**_...Oh, god, no! You were! You were going to! I was right, you ARE a coward!_**

_"Shut up! Of course I'll tell him! I'll just...do it when I feel like it."_

**_When you feel like it? You mean, never?_**

_"Peeerhaaaaps, but maybe in the far future-"_

**_You are a sad, pathetic man. You're telling me, that you can take over the frigging Tri-State Area, kill a man twice your size with your bare hands, and even face up to the entire world without so much as flinching, yet you can't even tell your own child that you are his father?_**

_"It's complicated, OKAY!? I-"_

_**Hurt him? Tortured him? Mutilated him? Completely traumatized him?**_

_"You're starting to sound like Alice..."_

**_How about this, then, hm? He cared enough to know about Vanessa. He cared enough to keep that between the two of you. He cared enough to follow you guys all the way over here. And that was IN SPITE all you've done to him. You literally took everything away from him, but he still has the strength to care about you._**

**_So, if he cares so much about you, even when you know your a total maniac, then will he truly hate you after knowing that you're his father? Or will he be even happier knowing who you were? Don't you see? You have a second chance, now, at being the parent you longed to be in the past! Take it; if not for his sake, then for yours!_**

Doofenshmirtz stared at the ladder as he continued to climb, lightly breathing as he began to think over everything. Literally, everything. His very existence, his whole quest for vengeance, even this little misadventure that led him here. He was wrong. This did change everything...

...But that wasn't such a bad thing, was it?

"...Phineas."

Phineas looked down at Doofenshmirtz, his head just out of the manhole, before Schnitzel let out a gasp. "Crap!" she shrieked, "I don't think this day's over just yet. Look!"

Phineas looked over, and had the same expression before he climbed out of the manhole completely, letting Doofenshmirtz through. Doofenshmirtz gasped.

Not only was their mode of transport completely tarnished, but so was the two Norm-Bots, both of which began flinching and sparking. Doofenshmirtz rose his gaze to DEI, which was miles away. "Oh no..."

Phineas looked over at the Norm-Bots and stared. "...Some of their damage came from mutants," Phineas said, "But...some of them came from a weapon of some kind...a gun, maybe. Just like..." Phineas looked at his laser grappling hook, which he strapped onto himself after the fight.

"So, that means..." Schnitzel trailed off, looked to Doofenshmirtz.

"...There was someone else down there."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Perry and Applejack rounded a corner, having been pursued by Cyborgs for about several minutes. Applejack glanced back, grinning. "This would be fun," he admitted, "Had it not been for the fact that our lives are pretty much in danger, here."

Perry shrugged. "Eh," he said, "Gotta admit, tag can be a fun game to play..."

"SToP RiGHT THeRe!"

Perry and Applejack looked up and skidded to a stop. Perry paled as Pinky the Cyborg began walking forward, growling menacingly. "Pink..." Perry sighed, "Well, guess I should have seen your appearance coming..."

"SiLeNCe!" Pinky barked, "WHo HaS SeNT you?! MoNoGRaM?! THe ReSiSTaNCe?!"

"The latter," Applejack said smugly.

Pinky looked absolutely shocked, as he gave Applejack a good look. "...you," Pinky snarled, "WHaT aRe you DoiNG BaCK HeRe, you TRaiToR?"

Applejack smirked. "We came here to get Perry's owner back," he stated, "He's a kid you've been keeping cooped up, until now. He isn't here at the moment, so, we thought we'd wait around for him. No biggie, Pinks."

"Do NoT CaLL Me THaT you iNSuFFeRaBLe PiLe of HaiR!"

"Its a pelt," Applejack eye-rolled, "And at least I have it, baldy."

Pinky growled. Perry was almost amused by this; not by Pinky's pain, oh no. But by the fact that Applejack just proved that he truly did drive everyone nuts. However, another thought kept him from this. "...Traitor...?"

Applejack seemed to flinch at this, almost as if he had forgotten that Perry was in the room. Perry blinked. "...You worked for..."

"Its complicated," Applejack said, "And its all in the past now. Ever since..." the goat shook it off, and glared at Pinky, "Look, just back off, 'kay? We don't want any trouble...yet..."

Perry stared at Applejack in wonder, and then back at Pinky, looking ready to fight. "I don't want to hurt you, Pinky," Perry said, "Please, let's just talk about this..."

"you'Ve eNTeReD eNeMy TeRRiToRy, PLaTyPuS," Pinky spat, "I ReFuSe To SiMPLy aLLoW you To WaLTZ oFF. I HaVe a MiSSioN To uPHoLD, aND I aSSuRe you, I WiLL NoT FaiL!"

The Chihuahuaborg leapt forward, his hand transforming into a buzz saw. Applejack dodged for the left, and Perry went to the right. Pinky's attention turned to Perry, followed by another, while Doug and another Cyborg jumped in to fight Applejack. "Its not fair to out-number your opponents," Applejack said, "Then again, this makes it all the more fun..."

Perry gulped, getting in a battle stance. He had no choice, did he? He had to fight. "So be it," Perry glared, "I'm sorry, Pinky. I really don't want to do this, but-"

"AUGH!"

All eyes turned to Peter the Pandaborg, who fled over and tumbled over to the ground. "HELP! I FouND THe iNTRuDeR!" he crashed into Pinky, who pushed him off and glared.

"WHaT iS THe MaTTeR WiTH you?!" Pinky yelled, "I SWeaR, you aRe CoMPLeTeLy uSeLeSS! THe iNTRuDeRS aRe RiGHT HeRe!"

Pinky pointed to Perry and Applejack, who looked honestly confused at Peter's outburst. Peter blinked, still shaken. "...B-BuT," Peter whimpered, "THeN WHaT aBouT THaT SCaRey Boy, CHaSiNG Me?"

"SCaRey Boy?"

"yeS! He CaMe iN WiTH THeSe WeiRD MoNSTeR THiNGS, aND-!" Peter collapsed in terror, and began to sob, "iT WaS Soooo SCaRey!"

Pinky rolled his eyes. "KeeP iT ToGeTHeR!" Pinky barked, "iF He'S So SCaRey, THeN WHeRe iS-?!"

Suddenly, Pinky's eyes widened, and his ears lowered to the back of his head. All eyes looked towards the direction where Peter had come from, and the sound of snarls, along with other noises, began rushing forward. In an instant, about ten mutants rushed forward into view, and the Cyborgs, Perry, and Applejack, all jumped back, shrieking in terror. "What the bloody hell?!" Applejack shrieked, before looking at them closer, "Oh, god, is that Zephire the Zebra in the front?!"

"They're OWCA agents..." Perry paled, "But, how...?"

"CEASE!"

The mutants all skidded to a stop, and sat on their rumps like obedient dogs. They simply panted, looking over to their master, who walked forward. His eyes, a fierce blue, were covered by black sunglasses. Perry's eyes widened, nearly getting a heart attack from what he was seeing. It couldn't be. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening!

Ferb clapped his hands together, smirking calmly. "Well," he said, "What do we have here...?"

**A/N:**

**...Well...that happened...XD**

**It took a while, but I did it! I bet by now, you guys that I wouldn't, but I did it! I totally did it! And its worth all your looks of sheer terror that I'm pretty sure you're having right now! X3**

**I hope you liked it! Please, read, review, and follow if you may! :D**

**-GTS**


	30. The Obvious Truth Part 7

**'Nuther chapter! YAY! X3**

**I'm very loopy today, for some reason. I haven't been getting enough sleep, it seems...oh well! Sleep is overrated! XD**

**Now, enjoy more of this, of which I love...and stuff...(hope this doesn't effect my writing...)**

**Read, Review, and Follow!**

**P/F/P/F**

_"CEASE!"_

_The mutants all skidded to a stop, and sat on their rumps like obedient dogs. They simply panted, looking over to their master, who walked forward. His eyes, a fierce blue, were covered by black sunglasses. Perry's eyes widened, nearly getting a heart attack from what he was seeing. It couldn't be. This wasn't happening. This wasn't happening!_

_Ferb clapped his hands together, smirking calmly. "Well," he said, "What do we have here...?"_

(~)

**The Obvious Truth (Part 7)**

It was quite an under statement that this was more than likely the worst day that any of them had experienced in a long time. If not the worst, than surely the most tiring. Probably the most thought-provoking, at least in Doofenshmirtz's case. Maybe even Phineas's. But to Schnitzel, it was no short of an answer, that today was NOT for her at all. If either of these two _schmucks _with her, one of who was a mere stupid kid who she had grown to respect, the other her frigging love interest, said that they had suffered more than her, she was going to smack them in spite later consequences. Not that they would dare, anyway. Not now when times were dire.

In spite the fact of their recent findings, such as the fact that Monogram had been erasing their memories of his base, a stolen blueprint, as well as the fact that, apparently, Monogram had anticipated that they would try to escape, and sent someone forward to completely dissipate DEI, they decided to remain calm, and try to think of a plan of returning in order to stop Monogram's evil plan. That is to say, they would have, had they themselves not have just been panicking, either on the inside or outside. Schnitzel was panicking all over the place, while Doofenshmirtz and Phineas merely stared at her. Admittedly, this would have been hilarious, had the fact of the situation hadn't graced their thoughts.

"AUGH! What are we gonna do?! What are we gonna do?!"

Doofenshmirtz and Phineas glanced at each other as Schnitzel began to pace back and forth in terror. Both sighed, as they were almost disappointed that she went from her momentary point of insanity, which gave her the power to desolate the creatures they would have to deal with once again, back to her usually, panicky but snarky self. The two glanced at each other, then sighed, not noticing the unison of their actions. It looked like everyone was going crazy today.

"Will you cut it out?" Doofenshmirtz asked, "We'll probably think of something a lot quicker if we just calm down for a bit."

"CALM DOWN?! We don't have any tools to fix THIS other than that-that..." Schnitzel blinked at Phineas, "Did you...bring a screwdriver with you?"

"Why do people keep saying that that's weird?" Phineas blinked, "Its weirder that this guy over here has an arm with a mind of its own, dontcha think?"

"You saw his arm?" Schnitzel asked, looking at Doofenshmirtz, who simply smirked in satisfaction, "Ah, man, I remember seeing that for the first- -GAH! What am I-?! We don't have time to delve into this! How are you guys gonna be able to fix us up a mode of transport with no tools?!"

Phineas glared. "Hey!" he crossed his arms, "You know how to build stuff too! Why are you pinning this on us?!"

Schnitzel's glare deflated awkwardly. "Y-yeah, well..." she began to rub her arm as she looked away, "I...only know how to repair stuff to...some extent..."

Phineas stared. Schnitzel balled her fists. "I'm a medic, okay?!" she stated, "Not a mechanic, like you or Doofus! The only thing I've managed to create were a couple Cyborgs, but only because of their organic structure. I can't create anything of pure machinery!"

Doofenshmirtz rolled his remaining eye. Why had he suddenly gotten used to that name? "This is why we needed someone else to build things in her place," he paused, "You know, along with the obvious that she's had too many things to do to even get on with repairs."

"Oh, shut up!" Schnitzel said, before looking over to DEI, "Ugh! I wish we had brought some sort of back-up transportation, or something! This'll take forever to fix!"

Phineas gave an unimpressed eye-roll at the doctor's panic. "Thanks for that, Captain Bring-Down..."

"Regardless of her negativity, she's right," Doofenshmirtz said, "We may have to find a new way of transport if we're gonna get there."

"Twelve seconds."

"Huh?"

Phineas grinned. "Gimme just twelve seconds, and I'll be able to fix this up in no time."

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel glanced at each other, and then back to Phineas, who simply flipped his screwdriver in the air, caught it, and got to work. Now that they thought about it, neither Doofenshmirtz or Schnitzel had actually seen Phineas build something. They didn't doubt his skill, but they never actually witnessed it either. They were in for a surprise.

A mere few seconds later, Phineas motioned to the newly built mode of transport out of the remains of the Norm-Bots; a floating vehicle, with a control panel to drive it. It was surrounded by metal for protection, with a glass front for visual purposes, and on the sides of it were two white rockets to propel it. It had flames painted on the sides, for looks they supposed, and there were even seats to sit in, with straps and everything, and...cup-holders? What the heck?

Phineas grinned. "What do you think?"

"...Wh-what the..." Schnitzel shook her head, "How...?"

Doofenshmirtz couldn't even find the words. He just stared in awe at the machine before him, which practically popped up before his eyes. He wasn't sure whether to be happy to have a mode of transport in a mere few seconds, proud that he had managed to help in this brilliant child's existence (something he never thought he'd ever say about ANYONE other than Vanessa), or completely pissed off that the boy wasted their time by allowing Schnitzel to start a five minute panic attack. Eh. Two out of one in terms of a brighter side, so he might as well lean to that half.

Besides, there was no time to pound the boy anyway.

"Twelve seconds," Phineas simply said, crossing his arms, "If Ferb were here, we could cut that time in half," he climbed on the fully operable machine, "C'mon! We don't have time to dawdle! DEI could be under attack right as we speak!"

Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel glanced at each other, shrugged, and climbed into the vehicle, strapping themselves in. Doofenshmirtz's eye widened at how comfortable the seat was (seriously, where did Phineas get some of this equipment?) while Schnitzel eyed Phineas. "Do you even know how to drive?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, sure," Phineas grinned a little too psychotically as he gripped the wheel, "HANG ON!"

Schnitzel stared in a bit of horror at the boy's actions. She looked at Doofenshmirtz. "I don't think we should be doing th-AAAAAAAAAH!"

The ship moved at sonic speed, causing the passengers to slam against the back of their seats. Phineas laughed with glee. Doofenshmirtz found it hard to sigh, with the wind blasting into his mouth. Yep. Everyone was going completely crazy today.

"ANYONE ELSE FEEL LIKE THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE?!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, ALICE?! I DON'T RECALL A RIDE THROUGH TOWN- -NOT LIKE THIS!"

"I DUNNO, ITS JUST THA-HEY! DON'T CALL ME ALICE!"

"AFTER YOU STOP CALLING ME DOOFUS BEHIND MY BACK OR AS IF I'M NOT EVEN HERE! IT'S ANNOYING!"

"OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" Phineas turned around in momentary anger, having just enough of their arguing for one day, "IF YOU TWO KEEP ARGUING I WILL TURN THIS THING AROUND! GOT IT?!"

Schnitzel crossed her arms, pouting. In her normal tone, in which the turbulence made it too loud for anyone to hear, she said, "_He_ started it."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Ah, yes, Ferb.

Loving step-brother of Phineas and Candace. The one whose father died before his eyes, due to a cancer. The one who was supposedly sent back to England by his mother to be comforted by his grandparents, when he had all the comfort in the world by his brother's side. The one who almost felt betrayed when he realized that it was just a cover-up for him to go with Candace to the Resistance.

Why had she chosen Ferb and not Phineas? He was probably more capable; less oblivious to his surroundings. He paid close attention to detail, unlike any other. He'd probably get into less scrapes than his younger brother would. Still, why couldn't they have just brought Phineas back with them for safe keeping? Well, someone had to look over Linda, right?

Ah, yes. Leave the youngest child of their family to deal with their on-the-edge-of-insanity parent, who was probably in agony over losing so many people in such a short amount of time. That made sense. All the sense in the world, if you found them in the bottom of a scum-ridden sewer, that is. Clearly, Candace was only fair when it came to strategy. Luckily, most of that was left to Isabella.

And not all seemed that bad. For starters, he made a couple of friends. Isabella was one of them, of course. Dr. Baljeet was another- -they shared common interests in science, in which each respected the other for their vast knowledge of it. Buford...he enjoyed tormenting Buford. Call it sadistic, but for some reason, Ferb pieced together that, at least in this world, it was widely excepted to have one punching bag to vent all stress on. Usually, someone would pick someone hilariously unlucky to do that to, but Ferb wasn't like Doofenshmirtz, who liked to feel power over pretty much everyone. Ferb wanted it to be a fair fight.

You can tell that both Ferb and Buford didn't exactly stand on common ground due to this...

Then there was Danni Alexandria Smith.

Danni was a newer member of the Resistance. She had signed herself up to join The Firestorm Girls, respectively, but somehow managed to bond with Ferb. Along with her, was a rather interesting little animal, who she brought everywhere with her. He was her best friend in the whole world, Danni told Ferb. His name was Applejack.

Unlike the rest of the Resistance Members, Danni acted like a big secret, which Ferb was intrigued by. Late at night, for example, Danni would sneak down the halls of the base, and down a flight of stairs that Ferb didn't know about. That was when he met _her_, and when he began to question Candace entirely. It was also that night, after both he and Danni scarcely evaded Candace, who came down the stairs as well.

It was also that night, that Ferb learned something else about Danni, and also Applejack. They worked for Doofenshmirtz, as spies for his organization. They had been gathering information from the Resistance, and had managed to send it all over to DEI, which explained why, lately, the base seemed to be having some viruses messing with the system. It was all Danni.

Danni wasn't evil, of course. She didn't want to go through with it. Doofenshmirtz had practically forced her to do it, threatening her home and everyone she cared about...her parents...her siblings...she felt like she had no choice. Could she have gone for help? Ferb didn't know, or care; he needed to be there for her. The two became pretty close.

Perhaps a little too close for comfort...it was interesting. Was it romance? Or was it sibling love? Applejack thought the former- -Isabella thought the ladder. The answer remained to be seen.

Of course, things went wrong far too soon.

It was horrible, that night. They had gone to infiltrate DEI. Ferb remembered in perfectly; he, Candace, Danni, and some others came along for the ride. What caught Ferb's attention, was that Candace allowed the one he found downstairs to come along for once...he wondered why that was. Candace said that she needed a chance. That she hadn't had fresh air in a while, and that it made her feel bad.

Ferb called her some nasty things in his head. This wasn't the Candace he grew up with. This was someone completely different. He kept an eye on the one he deemed a prisoner in the Resistance base, and they headed off.

They made it pretty far, to be honest. Doofenshmirtz was just about to test out a new invention; one that would be able to cross to other worlds, like their own. He wanted his rule to spread further than simply a world. He wanted more than that, clearly.

Pinky was the first to notice them. The members who came, all fought with great effort to fend off the Cyborgs, and it ended with the machine being completely destroyed. Only, it didn't end. It kept going from there. And it all went so horribly wrong.

Candace wasn't out for the machine, even if that was on their agenda. She wanted to beat Doofenshmirtz once and for all. Ferb found it rather insane that, in spite the guy being her bloody father, that she was willing to destroy him. Perhaps it made sense, since Doofenshmirtz was completely intolerable, not to mention completely insane in general...huh...he and Candace were alike, then...

They expected it to all be over after that. Doofenshmirtz had his back turned when Candace fired. But not his partner. Schnitzel suddenly slid in the way, and somehow managed to block it off. Or rather, she practically grabbed the ammo with swift movement.

She was, apparently at the time, testing out special gloves, Ferb recalled. These gloves could grab anything, and use them as a projectile. Speaking of which, that's what Schnitzel did; only unlike other objects, this was practically a bullet made of pure energy, that would probably explode on contact. Candace knew this well, and leapt out of the way. The prisoner of the Resistance wasn't as lucky. She stood there, completely pale and terrified.

Ferb ran to save her, but was beaten to it.

_"NO!"_

Danni shoved the girl out of the way with a scream, and soon after was taken down by the attack. She went into a convulsion, before suddenly falling limp. The prisoner looked absolutely mortified at what she had seen, while Ferb felt like he was going to be sick. He went to see if Danni was okay, and shook the unconscious body. She didn't respond. He didn't see why Doofenshmirtz or Schnitzel didn't seem to react to him stalling. Why didn't they attack?

Candace pulled on Ferb, glaring. _"Ferb, c'mon! We have to go!"_

_"But, Danni-!"_

_"It's too late! I'm sorry, Ferb!"_

Too late? Was she implying-?

Ferb checked her pulse at last...and stood as ordered.

Danni was gone.

The Resistance fled for their lives, as Ferb began to wonder why they weren't being pursued. Ferb then glanced back, and...and saw Schnitzel holding Danni's corpse like an infant, sobbing as she rocked back and forth.

_"D-Danni? I'm so sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Danni, I'm so sorry!"_

Ferb could only see the back of Doofesnhmirtz, but somehow it looked like he was...shocked...Had...had they cared about Danni? But why? They weren't caring people, they were dictators. Candace said they only cared about themselves- -not even each other. They were purely doing this all for their own sake.

So why were they suddenly mourning over their ally, who was practically trying to betray them? It didn't make any sense...

For the first time in Ferb's life under Doofenshmirtz's reign, he saw Schnitzel and, dare he say, Doofenshmirtz as human beings, as opposed to simply his enemies.

Back at the base, the Resistance mourned for their loss. Everything became silent. Isabella was probably taking it the worst; she felt like she had lost a sister. But no one took it like Applejack did.

Unlike most animals that Ferb had encountered, even Perry, Applejack seemed...human. He didn't even try to hide it from the world, knowing that everything had been over sieged by DEI, anyway. But the thing was, Applejack wasn't sad about Danni's death. He was enraged.

From what Ferb learned from Danni, it was that Applejack was from an organization called OWCA. He had been assigned a nemesis a long time back, and the two shared common interests. They had somehow befriended each other, and treated each other's presence as company instead of a threat. That had been Alice Schnitzel herself.

Applejack felt pain in his heart, from Danni being murdered, his only family, gone forever, never to be seen again. But he also felt betrayed by the only other person he could call a friend. And he wanted her to pay the price for her actions. He didn't just want to fight Schnitzel anymore, he wanted her gone. Permanently.

The last time Ferb saw Applejack, was when he went back to DEI to face up to Schnitzel herself. He didn't get enough details, but Applejack was apparently shot in the head by one of the Cyborgs. He didn't know that Schnitzel was so desperate on preventing yet another death, that she practically begged Doofenshmirtz to "fix him", like a child would their father over a cracked egg that was more than likely dead, but that didn't stop them because their father could fix anything.

By the time Applejack escaped DEI, alive and well, and fully upgraded, Ferb was gone. He learned of what had happened with Isabella:

Apparently, Ferb had enough of Candace completely. The prisoner was kept locked up, never to be released again. It was a testament of how cruel his step-sister could be.

_"What would our parents be saying about this?! What of Phineas?! How can you be so awful?!"_

_"I'm doing this for her benefit, Ferb."_

_"Not just her, Candace! All...all of this...this has gone too far. The more I think about it, the more I can't bare it. Danni may have been the only one in Resistance history to have been axed off, other than that poor Albert fellow, but the real issue is afterwards. Everything has changed completely, every_one _has changed! Even if we win the battle...what of the war that comes after? Things will never go back to the way things were...why make it worse by making a murderer of yourself?"_

_"...Are you telling me, that my efforts are wrong?"_

_"I'm saying that maybe your father doesn't deserve the death you're planning for him."_

_"He is NOT my father. By blood, maybe, but other than that, he's nothing to me. Do you realize that he took everything away from all of us, Ferb?"_

_"Yes! But perhaps stooping to his level won't solve anything!"_

_"I am not stooping to his level. He's doing this for power-sake; I'm fighting to justify that. He's corrupt, and for that he must perish."_

_"Aren't all of us corrupt? Haven't we all fallen as deep as he? As his partner? As anyone else in the Tri-State Area?"_

_"Perhaps...but whose fault was that, Ferb?"_

Their feuding went on like this for a while, until Ferb simply left the Resistance. They never heard of him again, Isabella stated. Eventually, Applejack learned that Ferb had been found by former members of OWCA. He thought that Ferb was safe and sound; until later on, when he found out that Ferb was with Monogram.

Yes, Applejack knew what a nutcase Monogram could be. Many of the agents were aware, save for those who were too loyal to even think of that possibility, like Perry. The only difference, was that Applejack wasn't bound to OWCA- -he proved to be too stubborn. They assigned Perry to him for a reason, after all.

Perry was too preoccupied to know about the mutations and experiments that Monogram made out of his own agents. Applejack escaped, barely, and wasn't able to make any contact with his mentor. For all he knew, Monogram probably did something to make every agent forget about Applejack, so that none of them would believe a word her said. That, or Perry just wanted to forget Applejack ever existed from how unbearable he was...not that anyone wanted to blame him or anything.

Applejack hadn't seen Ferb in two years since then. Now, having to face up to him after all this time gave him completely mixed feelings. He felt around the same bit of horror that Perry felt, though Perry's was more or less ultimate compared to his own. This was one of Perry's owners, after all, one of whom he had thought was in a completely different country than his own. Several thoughts must have been on the poor platypus's mind. For starters: _WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WAS FERB DOING HERE?!_

Perry's mind was spinning, far more than it EVER had in the past. Forget his moments with Applejack, or those times where he and Phineas would just barely dodge being taken by Norm-Bots, or Cyborgs, or WHATEVER Doofenshmirtz had at his disposal. Heck, forget all those supposedly inane schemes that Doofenshmirtz had claimed to be "out of boredom", when they were really forms of venting his rage towards the people after his own child died before his eyes (and of COURSE Perry would know about that. He was Doofenshmirtz's nemesis! Why wouldn't he?!)! This was the most hair-raising moment in his entire life, far worse than any nightmare would have been in a million years!

Ferb wasn't supposed to be here. He was supposed to be back in England. He was supposed to be the only one safe from all this disaster. Yet here he was, leading a legion against this tall building. Or, at least, that's what it appeared to be.

There were only ten of these mutants, yes, but they looked massive enough to destroy anything in their path, including the Cyborgs that he and Phineas had feared so much over the past year or so. And by the looks of it, the Cyborgs were equally terrified. Even Pinky seemed to be wavering, though his composure remained despite of the odds. Perry looked at Applejack, who stared as if he had almost expected this to happen...was this why Applejack wanted to talk to Candace? Did SHE know something about this as well; because if that was the case, Perry had a few choice words in mind for her.

Ferb folded his hands behind his back, smiling calmly at the terrified group of Cyborgs and former OWCA agents. He felt a wave of satisfaction at their looks of shock. "...So, this is DEI," he finally said, "Very...interesting...I expected more detail, but..."

Applejack stared, and sighed a bit, as if expecting something or other like this. Perry moved a bit forward, turning on his collar before Applejack could completely notice. The pygmy goat stepped towards his companion. "Perry, wait-!"

"Ferb?"

The green haired pre-teen looked taken aback at this statement. He blinked in utter confusion as Perry continued to speak. "Its me, Perry," the platypus said, "Your pet platypus, remember? Oh, Ferb...what are you doing here?"

Ferb blinked once more. He scoffed a bit, but remained unusually jolly. It wasn't robotic as much as it was sadistic. Yet, it was a different kind of sadism that Doofenshmirtz's or even Monogram's. It was...strange. "So you things can talk," he said, like he didn't hear a single word Perry had spoken, or if he was merely studying the platypus as opposed to conversing with him, "Intriguing."

"What's wrong with you?" Perry stared, "Don't you...don't you know who I am?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ferb said, finally acknowledging Perry's existence aside from the fact that he had a voice, "Nor do I really care. I am not here to be of any acquaintance, but to shut this place down completely."

"oVeR My CoLD DeaD BoDy!" Pinky barked up, only to be held back by an ever terrified Peter.

Ferb let out a laugh. Not an outright dark, sinister laugh. It was a friendly, humored laugh; and somehow, that made it even more terrifying. "That can be arranged," he said, lifting up his hand, and snapping his fingers.

The mutants immediately began to creep forwards, eliciting the others to slowly back away. Pinky was preparing to fight against the odds, along with the other Cyborgs other than Peter. Applejack prepared to run for dear life. Perry...he didn't know what to do.

"I do so apologize for this," Ferb stated, in mock-sincerity, holding a hand to his heart, "Monogram's orders, and what. Then again," he shrugged, "This may be fun to watch! I haven't been out much, so you understand if I need some action every now and then, hm?"

"WAIT!" Perry shrieked, "You don't have to do this! I work for OWCA, and Monogram-!"

"-Is a completely different man than what you thought him to be."

Perry quickly turned to Applejack, who looked at him with a guilt-ridden face, one that Perry had never seen before from the pygmy goat. Applejack sighed. "I...I should have told you sooner," he said, bowing his head a little, "I'm sorry, Perry."

"Enough of this nonsensical gibberish," Ferb said rather politely, unable to understand Applejack's bleating; he motioned forward, "Let's finish this up quick. We need to get to knocking this place down."

He motioned forward, causing the mutants to react.

_CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_

Ferb's bright smile faded into a look of shock as his small army of mutants was overturned by a car-space-ship-thing. Another crash sounded as the vehicle knocked the mutants through another wall, before it finally gave out, and stopped working. Ferb simply stared, before Applejack suddenly grabbed Perry by the tail, threw him onto his back, and started galloping away before the platypus could even so much as complain.

Pinky noticed this first, and immediately gave chase, his roar of "GET BACK HERE" grabbing Ferb's attention as well. The mutants all groaned, as did Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel, as they crawled out of the vehicle, moaning. "Where...did...you...ugh," Schnitzel grabbed her head, "I'm gonna be sick..."

"Huh..." Doofenshmirtz looked forward, seeing a familiar looking green-haired child in his blurred vision, "Where have..."

"Don't just lie there!" Ferb yelled, pointing at the vehicle (or was he pointing at Doofenshmirtz?), "Get them!"

The sound of growling vibrated the vehicle, causing Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel to slowly look downward. They snapped out of their dizziness immediately, just as Phineas popped out of the driver's seat. "That...was...great," he chuckled a little sickly, before Schnitzel smacked him in the back of the head, "OW! What was that-"

Phineas's eyes widened as he met eyes with one of the mutants. He stared. "...Oh, COME ON! How long are we gonna go though this?! What's the point?!"

"Are you serious," Schnitzel stared, "You're complaining about this NOW?!"

The mutants roared, knocking the vehicle, as well as its passengers, over to the ground. Part of the metal slammed onto Doofenshmirtz hard on the head, knocking him out. Ferb just barely got out of the way before it landed on the ground with a thud. Phineas crawled out from under the car, groaning. "Ugh...huh?" he turned to see that Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel were not as lucky as he was; the fall had knocked Doofenshmirtz out, while Schnitzel was struggling to get out of the debris. Phineas gasped, and tried to help Schnitzel move the vehicle off, but it was too heavy. "Wake up Doofenshmirtz!"

"Heinz!" Schnitzel shook the dictator, "Heinz, snap out of it!"

Doofenshmirtz moaned. "Wh-wha...five...minutes..."

"NO! Snap out of it! This isn't a dream! Wake up!"

Ferb stepped forward, feeling his humor return to him. He smiled. "Why, if it isn't Doofenshmirtz," he said, "Just who I was seeking..."

Phineas froze at the voice, his jaw dropping as a mute gasp escaped from his lips. That all too familiar voice he never thought he'd hear again seemed to echo in his brain. Schnitzel saw this, and looked back and forth from both children. "Kid? Kid? What's wrong?"

That's when Peter finally decided to take action. The Pandaborg suddenly flew straight for Ferb, tackling him down. Ferb reacted, and began to try and fight Peter off, pinning him down to the ground. Ferb smiled softly. "Now, now," he scolded, "Play nice."

Doug on the other hand, had his mind set for the mutants. He looked to the remaining Cyborgs, who nodded at him. They aimed their weapons at the mutants, and fired, earning their attention. When it didn't seem to faze them, the creatures moved forward, while the Cyborgs began to flee, leaving Peter behind. The mutants followed, much to Ferb's dismay.

"Wait! No!" Ferb stood, and ran over the Pandaborg, who yelped in pain, "Come back! I didn't say to go after the Cyborgs!"

Ferb gave chase to the mutants, as if completely forgetting about Doofenshmirtz's existence. Schnitzel chewed on this for a while, and realized that either this guy was easily distracted, or his main target wasn't Doofenshmirtz himself. But, why was he here then? She looked to see that Phineas was suddenly gone. "Kid?!"

Schnitzel peered from under the vehicle, and watched Phineas run after the green-haired boy in utter desperation. "KID!" Schnitzel yelled, "WAIT!"

"Ferb, come back!"

Phineas was gone. Schnitzel let out a loud groan of anger. "Oh, come on!" She glared at Doofenshmirtz's unconscious body, "This is all YOUR fault! I don't know HOW but it is, you, you-!"

Without thinking, Schnitzel suddenly slapped Doofenshmirtz hard in the face. The shock of it caused Doofenshmirtz to immediately awaken, and he lifted his head once again, hitting it against more metal. He yelped in pain, and grabbed his head. "Ow, ow, ow..." he moaned, "What the hell?!"

"Oh, so NOW you're awake!" Schnitzel eye-rolled, "Thank god, by the way, but still, you really choose bad times to get into scrapes!"

Doofenshmirtz shook his head. "...Are we trapped under metal?"

"YES!" Schnitzel yelled.

"Oh," Doofenshmirtz's mind settled back into place after a few minutes, "Augh...anyways," with that, he lifted the vehicle off, with a little bit of difficulty. Not that Schnitzel would have been able to tell- -to her, she was witnessing the powers of Thor, without the thunder and lightning. Of course, she tended to overestimate and underestimate things, as she found out recently, so it might not have been that spectacular. However, the vehicle WAS off, and they WERE free, so that really didn't matter to her much.

What mattered was Doofenshmirtz's sudden shocked expression, as he looked around his surroundings. "...Where's Phineas?"

Wait? What? Since when did Doofenshmirtz care about Phineas? It made sense for Schnitzel to get soft, but not Doofenshmirtz. Even when Danni was around, Schnitzel remembered, Doofenshmirtz didn't show this much concern, as far as she knew, anyway. Ever since she learned about Vanessa, she was getting seconds thoughts about it, to be honest. But all in all, Doofenshmirtz never showed concern for all to see. Ever.

"He went after..." Schnitzel snapped her fingers, "Ferb! That's it! Its that kid that was with Candace that one time! Remember?!"

"Ferb..." Doofenshmirtz's eye widened, "That kid! He's Phineas's-!"

"Hey, Heinz," Schnitzel blinked as Doofenshmirtz began to blatantly ramble to himself, "Uh...you hit your head kinda hard...you alright?"

Doofenshmirtz ran without another word. Schnitzel called out for him, but he had rounded a corner. Just like that stupid kid did. Great. She swore, those two must have been related or something; they've been doing the same stupid things this WHOLE misadventure. Schnitzel began to relay her options in her mind, before finally shouting, "SURE! LET'S _ALL_ GO CRAZY!"

She followed the evil dictator, shouting, "WAIT FOR ME!"

Peter, having been left behind, blinked at what he had saw. He stood to his feet, and waddled the other direction, as if nothing had ever occurred. His attention span was far too little to comprehend any of this anyway.

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Applejack! Stop! We have to go back!"

"You're not thinking straight, Perry," Applejack shouted as he rounded another corner, "We have to get outta here!"

"WHAT?!" Perry shot a look, "But, Phineas-!"

"The mission's been alternated! I'm sorry, Perry, but we can't risk-!"

"STOP!"

The pygmy goat suddenly slid to a halt at this command, though he failed to understand why he would. He never listened to anyone, ever. Anyone except...

Perry jumped off of Applejack's back, and walked in front of the goat, glaring into his face. Applejack simply stared back at the glaring platypus, noticing that his former mentor wasn't angry, but determined. "I'm tired of being left in the dark, Applejack," Perry said, "Tell me what the hell is going on. What do you know about all of this?"

Applejack blinked. "...You really wanna talk about this now, pal?" he asked, "Because, I'm pretty sure we're being hounded down by Cyborgs and-"

"I don't frigging care right now," Perry said, "I've been chased all year-round by killer Norm-Bots, nearly blown up by an air-plane, and had to deal with YOU for the past several months! I deserve to know what everyone's been trying to hide from me! I'm tired of all the secrecy; and I'm a secret agent! So that's saying a lot, buster!"

"I see your point," Applejack sighed, "And I get where you're coming from. But trust me, Perry, you're better off not knowing."

"Don't you think that I've learned far too many painful truths in the past?" Perry prodded, "Remember, I'M the top agent of OWCA! I was, anyway. So I know things that YOU don't even know about Monogram!"

"But I know things about him, too. Things you never knew to begin with. Things I never wanted to know. It's a part of the job, I know, but that excuse has hurt too many people. Including me."

Perry sighed. "And that's what I can't stand," he stated, "Why, Applejack? Why do you know these things, but not _me? _Why do you seem to know what's going on with Doofenshmirtz, and Monogram, and even my frigging owners? And furthermore, why didn't you tell me about any of it?"

"Because you've already been through enough trouble," Applejack stated, "I've driven you nuts, only because I do that to everyone. It's what I do, whether you like it or not. Is it right? I don't think so, but, we're not without our kinks. I'm a pretty good liar, for instance. A really darn good one, at that."

Perry looked confused at this. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, "If you're talking about when you were taking me away from DEI, then I guess I understand, but you've been pretty honest up until then."

Applejack shook his head. "I was never your partner, Perry."

"...Well, yeah," Perry shrugged, "Like I said, I never had a partner in my life, Applejack. See? I don't see how you're a good-"

"That's just it, Perry. You _did_ have a partner. And his name _was_ Applejack. He was a pygmy goat, just like me. And he was_ just_ as much of a nuisance as I've been to you."

Before Perry could ask Applejack to elaborate on this limbo, Pinky the Chihuahuaborg slid in, and immediately launched at them. Applejack was taken down from behind, and knocked into Perry, who chattered and growled as he managed to flip the two off of him. Perry and Applejack fled the another direction, and was chased down by an angered Pinky. Perry looked at Applejack, who couldn't bring himself to look the platypus in the eye.

Perry began wondering many things. One of them was who Applejack was, or if he even was Applejack at all.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Schnitzel's throat was completely dry, and her mind was numb. She was certain that if she had eaten anything before the interrogation, she would have emptied her contents all over the floor. She screamed at herself on the inside, asking herself, why? Why did she have to lie? They could have solved all of this; they could have helped Heinz. Now she got herself involved in a murder that she just so happened to walk in on._

_She slid down against her front door, wrapping her brain around everything. Of all the things she couldn't get out of her brain, it was the details of the murder. Or, at least, what she had witnessed. The gash on Roger's throat was clearly from a knife of some kind, which Heinz was still holding by the time Schnitzel reentered the house. From what she could guess, she was a mere few seconds from actually witnessing the murder first hand, or stopping it all together. Would Heinz have actually gone through with it had she entered, or would he have killed her on the spot?_

_Then again, that wouldn't have made much sense, considering that he had oh-so politely asked for the assistance of burying the body, and ridding the scene of the crime of any evidence. Would he have actually forced her to take part in the actual murder instead of simply asking to help hide the body? Would he have that same, innocent look in his eye? What exactly went through his head during this?_

_They buried Roger under a tree, by lake. Schnitzel was thinking that perhaps Doofenshmirtz did it because he and his younger, now dead brother liked to skip rocks back at Gimmelshtump. Did he feel bad about what he did? It didn't seem like it, even now. After that night, all the friendliness had begun to drain, and he became a different person altogether. The old Doofenshmirtz that Schnitzel had grown up with, and had fallen head over heels for, was buried along side his brother._

_And it made her feel awful. This was her fault. She didn't know how, but it was. It had to be. There had to have been something that she could have done to prevent all of this. She was RIGHT outside when it happened, for Pete's sake!_

_Schnitzel sighed when she heard a knock at the door. She stood, and brushed the wetness from her eyes. Yes. She had been crying a lot lately. But never as hard as she had been that day._

_"Hello?" is what she said when she answered. But on the inside, she was cursing herself for not ignoring it. "Heinz, how have you been? Come inside." Before someone saw him, and made her look even worse than she did back at the interrogation room._

_"What did you tell them?"_

_Right. Of course he'd cut to the chase._

_"I was as discreet as possible," Schnitzel stated, "Said what you told me to say- -I was going out to dinner with you, and we took a walk through town. We passed the house, but I didn't notice anything."_

_"Good," Doofenshmirtz nodded, "Now, how'd they take it?"_

_Schnitzel glared. "How do you think they took it? They skinned me like a cat! They probably think that I committed the murder!"_

_Doofenshmirtz shrugged. "A minor setback," he stated, "But, you did well enough, nonetheless."_

_"I am going to die!"_

_"You're being over dramatic. I wouldn't kill you, and you know it."_

_"Not you!" Schnitzel shrieked, "Why even suggest that?! And how do I know you wouldn't kill me?! You killed your own brother, Heinz!"_

_"Of course I did," Doofenshmirtz said far too casually for his own good as he took a seat on a couch in Schnitzel's living room, "I did say that I would, didn't I? Doofenshmirtz's don't lie."_

_"Except about their relatives deaths."_

_"Well, there are some exceptions. We're all only human."_

_Schnitzel sighed. It was all she could do to keep herself from going completely crazy. You know; crazier than she already had become. "Can I get you something to drink? Water? Sprite?" Blood?_

_"I'll be fine, thank you," Doofenshmirtz stated, "Actually, I came to see if you needed anything? I'm quite aware that it takes a lot from you, having witnessed someone die."_

_Schnitzel felt like she should have found a weapon of some kind, take Doofenshmirtz down, and then call the police to take him away. She couldn't, of course. She'd never do that to Doofenshmirtz. And in the end, perhaps that's why Doofenshmirtz seemed to trust her with all of this._

_"I'm coping," Schnitzel finally said, "Very decently, I suppose."_

_"That's good," Doofenshmirtz said, "In any case, you probably know the reason why I'm here?"_

_"That's something that I want to know, actually," Schnitzel said, "Among other things..."_

_"You want to know why I killed Roger so suddenly," Doofenshmirtz said knowingly._

_"If you'd please."_

_"May I just say that you're being surprisingly calm, Alice? It's impressive."_

_Schnitzel flinched. Why? That was her name, was it? Why did her name sound more taboo that the f-word was for little children? Was it Doofenshmirtz saying it that made it so disgusting?_

_"Just get on with it, Heinz," Schnitzel sighed, "Please?"_

_"Of course," Doofenshmirtz said, "It's simple, really. He was in my way."_

_"...I don't understand."_

_"You will in due time," Doofenshmirtz said, "In any case, this is an entirely different matter entirely. You see, I'm here to...employ you, if you will."_

_"Uh...that's not necessary," Schnitzel said, "I've already got a job."_

_"Of course you do," Doofenshmirtz nodded, "But its not paying as well as you thought it would, hm?"_

_"...Have you been stalking me?"_

_"No. Of course not. I've just been doing my research."_

_"You've been stalking me."_

_"So what if I have?"_

_"That's creepy! And considering that you just killed someone-!"_

_Doofenshmirtz rose a hand up. "Let's drop that just for a moment," he said, "The point is, you haven't been getting a fair end. You've been looking to apply somewhere else. Makes sense, considering how rude some people can be."_

_Schnitzel's eyes widened at this. "God, how long have you been following me?! You could have just called, and asked me how I've been! That would have saved you all the trouble!"_

_"Moving on," Doofenshmirtz said, ignoring Schnitzel's complete horror that was building, "You see, I find value in your talents. I may be mechanically inclined, but I don't know as much about medical studies as you do."_

_"Why would you need to know about medical studies?"_

_Doofenshmirtz folded his hands together, and move closer. "What do you know about bio mechanics?"_

_Schnitzel blinked. "Bio mechanics?" she asked, "You mean, like...cybernetic organisms?"_

_Doofenshmirtz nodded. "Yes."_

_"Plenty," Schnitzel stated, "I studied it back at college. It was a side-project, really. Why do you ask?"_

_Doofenshmirtz simply grinned._

**A/N:**

**I enjoyed writing this. I really did.**

**If something doesn't make sense to you, don't worry. It'll all add up in due time.**

**Oh well. I hope you enjoyed! :)**

**Please Review and Follow! :D**

**-GTS**


	31. The Obvious Truth: Part 8

**Before you ask, yes, I know that this next paragraph isn't the ending of the last chapter- -I'm not gonna put any flashbacks up, unless they go with what's actually happening in the present. And, yes, there was a reason why this next paragraph and the flashback were put side by side. Don't ask.**

**Enjoy the next chapter~! :D**

**P/F/P/F**

_Before Perry could ask Applejack to elaborate on this limbo, Pinky the Chihuahuaborg slid in, and immediately launched at them. Applejack was taken down from behind, and knocked into Perry, who chattered and growled as he managed to flip the two off of him. Perry and Applejack fled the another direction, and was chased down by an angered Pinky. Perry looked at Applejack, who couldn't bring himself to look the platypus in the eye._

_Perry began wondering many things. One of them was who Applejack was, or if he even was Applejack at all._

(~)

**The Obvious Truth (Part 8)**

At this point in time, all states of mind were thrown to the wind. DEI was over-run with complete chaos, as the entire building seemed to be filled with scattering. The alarm that had gone off before had caused the slaves to panic; some actually managed to escape the rooms they had been trapped in, only to meet up with the turmoil that took place outside.

Just as Perry and Applejack continued their run from an overly angered Pinky, Cyborgs dashed another direction, with mad, snarling mutants not too far behind. Three mutants, who were much smaller, had curiosity get the better of them, and they slipped into the ventilation shafts to sought others out, while a few of the Cyborgs heard Pinky's snarls of rage, and went to follow his sound to assist him. By now, the halls seemed to become an utter mess, for lack of a better word.

Moments later, Ferb entered, and looked left and right, groaning in pure annoyance, his disturbing optimism turning into stress. "C'mon!" he threw his hands up in the air, "This is really happening? I thought this was going to be quick..."

Ferb sighed, calming down. No use in stressing over it. He'd get the job done, one way or another. He did a swift game of "eenie meanie minie moe", not noticing a triangle-headed boy just rounding the corner. The green-haired boy pointed to a direction, and continued his run, just before Phineas could call out for him.

"Ferb, wait!" Phineas slid to a stop, looking the other direction, wondering why it looked like such a mess before determining that Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel would be able to handle it without him. He continued to follow his brother down the other hall.

Minutes later, a dull sound of feet tapping could be heard, as well as a voice:

"HEINZ! SLOW DOWN!"

Doofenshmirtz didn't hear Schnitzel's words. He couldn't hear anything in his current state of mind. All he knew was that he had to find Phineas, and that he had to find him fast. He swore, that kid just LOVED to get himself into near-death situations, didn't he? Of course, this was different. This was Phineas's step-brother they were talking about.

Phineas's own brother wouldn't hurt him, right; then why did Doofenshmirtz have this gut feeling...?

Doofenshmirtz was immediately stopped in his tracks by a fork in the hallway. He looked left and right, panting, his head in a rush trying to think of something, anything. He looked to the left, which had traces of mutants and some of his Cyborgs lingering, and to the right, which he saw traces of only Cyborgs, who were obviously chasing someone. Perhaps they were hunting down Ferb, or more intruders. But which way did Phineas go? He kept glancing back and forth, trying to find a choice. If he chose wrong, what if it proved to be a fatal error?

Schnitzel finally jogged in, panting heavily from exhaustion. "My...god, Heinz!" she groaned, "What the hell has gotten into-?!"

"Oh, good, you're here," Doofenshmirtz grabbed Schnitzel by the shoulders, "Which way do you wanna take?"

Schnitzel blinked. "Huh?"

"Which. Way."

"Heinz, seriously, I don't-"

"LEFT OR RIGHT?! THAT'S ALL I WANNA KNOW!"

Schnitzel stuttered at this sudden roar of rage. Doofenshmirts seemed to be on some kind of energy high, as if something were tugging at his emotions left and right like a jabbering mess of confusion. Oh, how she longed to learn what it all meant. "Uh...right?"

Doofenshmirtz pushed Schnitzel towards the said right pathway. "Good!" he said quickly, "Find Phineas, and then get me if you do! I'll check this way!"

"Wait-!"

Doofenshmirtz sprinted to the left, leaving Schnitzel behind again. "Heinz! What's wrong?!"

It was too late. Schnitzel could tell, the moment the dictator refused to respond at all, and disappeared down the hall. She pondered whether she should go after him or follow her orders, and wisely chose to go to the right path as told. To be honest, she was just as worried about Phineas as Doofenshmirtz was, but for slightly different reasons. Schnitzel ran the other path. She'd have to discuss the matter with Doofenshmirtz later.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Phineas didn't want a new daddy. Not one little itty bit._

_At this age, he had already known his own parents well enough to except them as they are: the best people in the wholest, widest of universes, and if anyone disagreed, he'd simply ignore them completely. The only difference between the two, was that his daddy had suddenly disappeared, without much reason to go by it. His mommy stayed, of course, but there was an emptiness that remained. Phineas never liked to admit that he missed daddy more than anyone else, mainly because he thought this whole time that he had gone on some long business trip. That's what mommy told him, and his mommy would never lie to him._

_So why did this other daddy have to come in and ruin everything? Phineas didn't like this stranger at all! Not only did he talk funny, and not at all like his own daddy, but Phineas was sure that if his daddy, his real daddy, came back to see this, his feelings would be hurt. Phineas didn't like it when his daddy was sad._

_Phineas didn't want to be mean or anything, but then again, this total stranger was being a total bully, coming in and sleeping where daddy had slept beside mommy. Candace said that mommy and the stranger were gonna be "married" soon, so that's why the stranger decided to start having these bizarre sleepovers. Phineas didn't like it one bit, but he didn't say anything, even though he wanted to. Why did mommy seem so happy with this stranger?_

_His daddy never made mommy happy. He never seemed to make anyone but his son happy. Phineas didn't know why that was; he loved his daddy._

_He also didn't know why they were being so wary about the whole thing. Ever since the town became absolutely covered with robots, Phineas noticed that literally no one was leaving their homes. The stranger had to sneak himself and his son in through a window in the middle of the night. Why didn't he use the front door like any normal person? Was he weird?_

_And then there was his green-headed son. He was much taller than Phineas was, and a little older too. Like this boy's daddy, he talked very strangely as well. The only difference, was that he didn't talk as much. Phineas supposed that he could tolerate this one more than the stranger, but he still didn't want anything to do with him. Phineas wanted his daddy, not a brother._

_Phineas sat on his inflatable bed, completely indignant. No. He wasn't going to stand for it. He was going to tell mommy how he felt- -that daddy wouldn't like this at all. That HE didn't like this at all. He was FINALLY going to do it._

_Except, he didn't. He couldn't. Mommy and Candace had never been this happy before. He didn't want them to be sad._

_But he didn't want his daddy to be sad either._

_But mommy and Candace..._

_But daddy..._

_Phineas began to cry into his hands. He couldn't make anyone happy, either. Just like daddy couldn't. He could only make one or the other happy, and never both. It wasn't fair._

_Phineas felt someone bouncing onto his bed next to him. The boy flinched when he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder. Phineas turned to Ferb, who stared blankly at him. Phineas sniffled, before glaring coldly, his tears still running. "What do you want?"_

_Ferb blinked. He wrapped his arms around the boy who he'd soon call his brother. Phineas froze, staring at nothing in particular. Then, he began to sob on Ferb's shoulder, as his brother began to silently sooth him in any way possible._

_Maybe this wasn't going to be that bad after all..._

**.**

**.**

**.**

_CRASH!_

Phineas's mind flashed out of his memories from the sound of construction being completely desolated. Phineas ran around a corner, and saw the damage that had been made in a mere minute. Just moments away was Ferb, glaring at a large, gaping hole that the Cyborgs and mutants created during their chase. In the other room, he could see a giant hole on the floor, followed by several others. They could be anywhere in the building now.

The Brit let out another sigh to calm his nerves. "Okay," he said, his smile returning, "It's fine. It's fine. THEY can go on with destroying DEI, while I continue the mission. Its a win-win situation, Ferb."

Phineas swallowed, and thought about what he should probably say. The hesitation was brief, but long enough for him to miss his chance. Ferb, with no other word or thought, simply jumped through the hole on the floor, and descended below. Phineas gasped, and ran forward. "Ferb, no!"

Upon peering through, Phineas was shocked to see that Ferb had hovered over to the next floor. He sighed in relief, and began to lay out his options. On one hand, he should probably get back to Doofenshmirtz and Schnitzel, who as far as he knew were still trapped. What was he thinking anyway, leaving them behind without so much as a second thought? On the other hand, this was Ferb he was talking about. It was one thing to learn that his pet platypus was a secret agent, but he never thought that he'd ever see his brother again, whether an illusion or not.

Yes. Phineas was starting to doubt if this was even Ferb. The guy practically hovered in midair, and gracefully landed with no casualty. It just didn't seem very human, or even organic. It seemed more...robotic. Still, Phineas was hopeful; who would try to replicate Ferb?

Phineas let out a shaky breath, before he made his decision. How he hated his own, danger-loving logic, and how it was inevitably trying to get him killed. Carefully, he began to climb over the edge of the hole, and hung there for a moment, rocking back and forth. His grip nearly slipped, and he barely latched on once more on the floor. He swallowed. "Calm down, Phin," he said to himself, "You can do this, just..."

Phineas swung more, letting his arms drop, though his grip remained. This made his hold a bit slippery, however, and he eventually had to let go. Phineas landed to the next floor, nearly falling through the other holes below, only to just barely land on safe ground on his back. Phineas groaned in pain, pushing himself up to his feet. He stumbled a bit, but continued to run after his brother, who at this point had just run out of view once more. Phineas treaded forward, more determined than ever to find his brother.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Perry and Applejack kept running for dear life, Applejack glancing back to see Pinky, as well as a couple other Cyborgs, giving chase. Applejack looked to Perry. "Any ideas come to mind of how we can get them to back off?" he asked, "I'm one for company, but this is ridiculous."

"Three's a crowd," Perry agreed, "Maybe we can shut them off? Is there an off-switch on you?"

"_Me_?"

"Oh, don't act so insulted, you know what I meant!"

"Well, I guess so. I'm part robot, after all."

"Where do you think it would be."

"Well, duh- -where I couldn't reach it. The back of my head, I'm guessing. I've never seen it before, and no one's given me clear detail about it."

Perry check the back of Applejack's head. He blinked. "I don't see anything."

"Then, maybe Cyborg's work on batteries or something?"

"How is it that you don't even know!?"

"Schnitzel never told me anything, okay?!"

"Schnitzel? Who the hell is-?"

"STOP!"

The Cyborgs obeyed immediately, including Pinky, who looked unamused at the orders given. Applejack slid to a stop as well, followed by Perry, who looked rather confused at Applejack's shocked expression. "Applejack...?"

Schnitzel gave a glare to the other Cyborgs. "I am ashamed of you!" she said, "Going after one of your own! Apologize!"

"BuT, Ma'aM!" Pinky barked, "THey aRe THe eNeMy! WHy SHouLD We-?!"

"We're not to focus on _them_," Schnitzel said, "Now, back off of them, immediately!"

Pinky snarled, but did as he was told. Schnitzel smiled at this. "Good," she said, "I'm glad we're all on the same pa-EEK!"

Schnitzel leapt back with a yelp as she evaded a red blast from Applejack's horn, which hit Pinky instead. The Chihuahuaborg in turn crashed into the wall, knocking him out momentarily. As the other Cyborgs aided Pinky, Perry turned to his friend in shock as Applejack went to tackle Schnitzel, only to be quickly lifted up and slammed to the wall. Schnitzel, still shaken, pushed against Applejack, who struggled. "My, god, AJ!" Schntizel glared, "This is not how I thought us meeting again would be like, you little psycho."

"Get...OFF!" the pygmy goat launched his hind-legs into Schnitzel's stomach, who responded as expected, slumped to her knees, and hugged her gut in pain. Applejack tackled her to her back, and pointed his horn just centimeters from her neck. "Where. Is. PHINEAS?!"

Schnitzel's eyes rolled in irritation, having no idea what Applejack was saying. The goat mentally face palmed; he had forgotten that Perry was the one with the translator-collar, not him. "In hindsight, Heinz and I could have put in a translator for you," she stated, "If you hadn't bailed out on us, that is."

Applejack's pissed off expression, that seemed to grow at her very presence, caused Schnitzel to lose some of her bravado. Schnitzel looked to Perry. "Hey! You're Doofenshmirtz's nemesis, right?" she asked, "Get your furry little friend off me, and I can help you guys find him!"

Perry opened his bill to reply, only for Applejack to bleat out, "Don't listen to her! Go on without me, and find Phineas! GO!"

Perry stared for a moment. Did he trust Applejack? More than Schnitzel, that's for sure, even if she had saved their lives. Yet, the shroud in Applejack's eyes seemed off. He truly despised this woman, whoever she was. Perry began to turn.

"WAIT!" Schnitzel cried out, pushing up Applejack's snout, pushing way his horn with all her might, "I'm a friend of Phineas's!"

Perry froze. So did Applejack; perhaps at the fact that Schnitzel seemed willing enough to help? Or desperate? Applejack overpowered Schnitzel, and lowered his horn to Schnitzel again, growling. Schnitzel shuddered. "Okay, look," she said to the platypus, "I know you must have been very worried about Phineas, but he's alright! Honest!"

Except, not honest. She had no idea if Phineas was okay or not. She just trusted Doofenshmirtz enough to at least try to protect the kid, seeing as he acted so determined to find him in the first place. She prayed that he'd be fine. "Please, listen to me! It doesn't look like it, seeing as I work for your nemesis and all, but we're on the same team this time!"

At least, she hoped they were this time, but she didn't add that in for her own sake of living. Applejack's horn touched her neck. "I will END you!" the goat shouted, "DIE!"

"APPLEJACK!" Schnitzel shrieked in terror, realizing what the goat was about to do to her, "Please, wai-!"

"Applejack, stop!"

Time seemed to stop for Schnitzel, who was shocked that a non-Cyborg was actually speaking. The Resistance had figure out how to translate animal language- -WITHOUT the need for cybernetic advances, or WITHOUT the implications of the sound-systematics? That just didn't happen. Why hadn't Doofenshmirtz been able to do this first? Applejack turned to Perry, glaring. "WHAT?!"

"I think she's telling the truth," Perry stated.

"She lies! I should know! You just _met_ her, Perry!"

"I had just met you when you dragged me to the Resistance base."

Applejack seemed to stutter at this, and growled. "That's different!" he stated in a huff, "Schnitzel's just as bad as Doofus is! Maybe even worse!"

"Does that matter if that's true or not? If she's smart, she'll help us, and if not, she'll face_ your_ wrath. That's fair, don't you think?"

Perry looked to Schnitzel. "You," he said in English, "Tell me...how much do you know about this building?"

"I know pretty much everything about it," Schnitzel said as if it were obvious, "I live here, after all."

"Then you wouldn't mind helping us look for my owner?"

"I offered, didn't I?"

Perry glared for a moment, before nodding at Applejack. "Off."

The pygmy goat cyborg let out an angry grunt of refusal. Perry's glare hardened. "Candace put me in charge," the platypus stated, "I said OFF."

Applejack sighed, and, reluctantly, climbed off of Schnitzel, who dusted herself off. "THANK you," she said, "That was rather rude of you, goat-breath."

Applejack blew a raspberry at Schnitzel, who glared harshly. Schnitzel didn't seem to like Applejack, though not at the same level as Applejack's hatred for her. In fact, she seemed rather casual about her hatred, like it was a routine. Had she expected Applejack to react that way, and she just decided to take it as it was for some part? Or was she just annoyed, like everyone else was? The latter seemed likely, sure...but...there was something else there, between them both.

"So, where should we check first," Perry asked, changing the direction his mind was going once more.

Schnitzel didn't answer at first, given her shock that Perry could speak so perfectly, while she and Doofenshmirtz were still trying to figure out how to perfect the Cyborgs' vocal ranges. This "Dr. Baljeet" character that Schnitzel had heard about- -he'd be an interesting character to talk to in the future... "Anywhere in this direction," Schnitzel said, "This path will take us to the infirmary."

"Alright," Perry nodded, "Let's get going," he looked to Applejack, "And DON'T try anything!"

Schnitzel looked back to Pinky, who found consciousness again. "You and the others try to round up the mutants invading the building," she ordered, "We'll find you later."

The other Cyborgs nodded, while Pinky stared directly at Perry and Applejack hatefully. "...I WiSH To aCCoMPaNy you," he said, "I Do NoT TRuST THeSe TWo TReSSPaSSeRS. THey aRe PLaNNiNG SoMeTHiNG..."

Schnitzel nodded at this. "If you must," she said, "Just don't do anything irrational," she looked to a raccoon-type Cyborg, "Ralph, you're in charge for now."

The Cyborg saluted without a word, and the Cyborgs flew off in the other direction they remembered the mutants taking. Schnitzel took a breath, and looked to those in her group. "Alright," she said, "Let's go."

**.**

**.**

**.**

Doofenshmirtz came to a stop the moment he heard the sound of rubble breaking a part. He let out a gasp as he continued to run forward towards the sound, that seemed to continue on, though seemed to weaken, almost as if the sound was headed towards the lower parts of the building. He groaned. This was just perfect, really, as Doofenshmirtz knew that after this mess was resolved, he'd have to deal with fixing DEI. So. Frigging. Great.

He manage to maneuver through the halls, all having traces of some kind of monstrous struggle between Cyborgs and mutants, and managed to make it to the room where he was certain the sound was coming from. From the hole he saw through the wall, he deduced that, yes, this must have been where the sound emanated. Other than that, the room appeared empty. He looked around, and ran over to the damage. He peered through the wall, seeing a giant hole on the floor, followed by a series of other holes, that seemed to continue for a few more seconds.

"Phineas?!"

His voice echoed down the holes, with no result. Doofenshmirtz stared down the hole, feeling his anger rising once more. He couldn't help it; this had been the first time that he had truly cared about someone's well-being in a long time. At least, aside from Schni-NOPE! Only he could beat up Schnitzel. Monogram had no right to meddle with that.

But why did it have to be so...convenient? It was totally convenient! What were the odds of Phineas of all people being his son? And why was he still ON about it?!

Why was he so mad all the time?!

Doofenshmirtz punched his fist on the floor, hard. "Great!" he yelled, "This is just PERFECT!"

"SiR!"

Doofenshmirtz turned to see a few of his Cyborg minions flying in, and witnessing what was left of the current wall in front of them. Ralph landed beside Doofenshmirtz, and looked at the damage with a mortified expression. This was going to take FOREVER to fix. He turned to the other Cyborgs. "THey HeaDeD DoWN TheRe!"

The Cyborgs began filing down, while Ralph stayed behind, looking at Doofenshmirtz. "SiR, aRe you aLRiGHT?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine" Doofenshmirtz said, feeling some kind of irritation rising. He'd felt impatient lately, hadn't he? "Racoonborg, take me down there, now!"

**.**

**.**

**.**

Schnitzel opened the door of the infirmary, and glanced around. "Uh...Phineas?" she walked in, followed by Perry, Applejack, and Pinky, who began to look around in the dark, "You in here, buddy? Is...is anybody in here?"

She had just remembered the other patients that were still in bed while she had been gone. She had instructed Peter the Pandaborg to watch them, while being carefully watched by another Cyborg. Pinky had been keeping an eye on the other slaves at the time, so Schnitzel had to rely on a ferret-Cyborg, who she dubbed Fender after he had been completely transformed. Peter, who she barely noticed attacking Ferb before disappearing from view moments later, was clearly not here, and Fender was probably with the other Cyborgs, which was unsettling.

Gingerly, Schnitzel flicked the lights on, and glanced around. She stepped forward into the room, as the other animals searched around the room. Perry looked to Schnitzel. "Are there any patients here?"

"There...there should be," Schnitzel stated, looking around, "God, I wonder how they're taking all of thi-"

"AAAAAAH!"

The group turned to the location of the scream, which came from a farther reach of the room. The infirmary consisted of its own hall, with several rooms along it. The hall lied most of the patients residing, while the others rooms, which could fit at least four to five people, were either for patients with much deadlier symptoms, or were stocked with certain tools that Schnitzel would rather keep out of the reach of others. This patient was in the hall, but farther down the room. Schnitzel barely even noticed the mutant practically tearing the hair off of the patient's head as she, Perry, Applejack, and Pinky went to assist.

They came too late, unfortunately, as the creature bit down hard in the patient's skull, causing it to bleed, and her body to fall limp on the bed. The other patients who had witnessed this panicked, ignoring their injuries for the sake of their escape. That's when they noticed the second one, leaping at Perry, who immediately flipped it over. The first mutant, who had teeth of a carnivore, body of a rabbit, and the head of a mole, went after another patient, only to be taken down by Pinky and Applejack. Schnitzel watched their struggle for power momentarily, unsure of what she could do, before another patient screamed to her.

"Behind you!"

Schnitzel turned, only to be tackled down by a third mutant, who had more chimp-like features, though his hands and feet were like claws and talons, while wing protruded on its back. It reminded Schnitzel of the flying monkeys from the Wizard of Oz if it were nightmare-fueled. She kicked the mutant off, and ran away. Or at least tried to. The creature knocked her over again, this time into a one of the room. Schnitzel, lying on her stomach, looked around as the mutant began chewing on her hair. "Ow, ow, ow!" Schnitzel squeaked, before getting a good look at the room. She gasped when she saw several containers lining up against a wall beside her.

Memories of today's events clouded her mind; how Phineas reacted insanely, and how the mutant's reacted to the lion-creature's fear. Schnitzel began to smile craftily, pounded a fist into the chimp's face, and managed to push him off, losing a bit of hair in the process. Schnitzel screamed in pain, but managed to throw herself to the containers, even as she felt tears rolling down her face. She shoved a tube into the chimp's mouth, and blasted the gas in. She pulled it out with a tug.

As expected, the chimp-mutant began to spurt into animal-esque giggles, grabbing the attention of the other two mutants, who therefore ignored the others. They reacted almost immediately, and chased after the other mutant, who began to screech in terror while continuing to spurt into a laughing fit. The three suddenly had turned against each other, and began to tear each other limb from limb. Perry and Schnitzel were absolutely horrified or disgusted, while Applejack, and Pinky saw this as a normal occurrence.

Schnitzel took another, calming breath, and went over to the other animals and patients. "Alright, everybody!" she said, "Get to somewhere safe, all of you! Anyone who can walk and still has arms working, partner up with someone whose been crippled! Off with all you!"

"Meanwhile," Perry said, "We better get outta here and-"

Applejack put a hoof up, and clamped Perry's beak shut. The platypus glared, while the pygmy goat gave a mischievous grin. "Actually, Perr-Bear," Applejack chuckled, turning to the room with the other tanks of laughing gas, "I've got another idea in mind...mind translating this, pal?"

**.**

**.**

**.**

After much searching, which felt like hours to Ferb given the level of patience that had dropped, he managed to reach a floor with, you guessed it, more rooms. Very redundant to mention, since several halls were like this. Just thinking about it made Ferb's brain hurt. He remained calm, however, and continued to seek out his target.

"Alright, Ferb," the green-haired kid told himself, "If I were Doofenshmirtz, where would I...ooh."

Ferb walked down another path, which differed from the other halls. He eventually reached a large, circular area, which led to another hall. He looked up to see a chandelier, which seemed to remind him of the sun on a spring-day. Maybe it was the theme of the ceiling? "Odd," Ferb blinked, "This doesn't seem to fit in a place like this...does it symbolize anything?"

He looked around, almost as if expecting an answer. Eventually, he walked down the smaller hallway, which led to a single door. It looked plain, and unimportant, unlike the other doors which appear metal. This one was wooden, which intrigued Ferb. Unlike Phineas when he first entered this room, Ferb felt nothing, nor expected anything. He simply knew he had a job to do.

He grabbed the door handle, and tried to turn it. After the last time, Doofenshmirtz was keen of making sure no one entered the room ever again, and made a lock for it. Ferb sighed, and with ease, tore the door off, throwing it behind him. The door landed on the ground, and broke in half.

**.**

**.**

**.**

Phineas gasped at the dull sound of broken wood just moments down a familiar looking hallway. One that looked out of place compared to the others. Phineas shook his head, and continued to run, faster than before. Everything felt sore.

"No, no, no, no, no..."

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Hm...a child's room?"

Ferb glanced around the room as he entered, almost engrossed with how odd this room was compared to the rest of the building. It was like a room for a small child...other than what appeared to be a large stain of blood on the wall in front of him. Ferb stared, as if scanning the stain, and placed a hand on the wall. He turned and saw a picture frame, with Doofenshmirtz and a girl on it.

Ferb picked up the photo, and stared at it. Why did they look so happy? Doofenshmirtz was never happy, as Ferb was told. He gave a hardened glare, and began to squeeze the frame, causing it to start cracking. He did this in a painfully slow pace, until-

"FERB, STOP!"

Ferb turned, and was shocked to see Phineas, who seemed to looked horrified by what was about to happen. The two brothers stared at each other, with Phineas feeling shocked at the fact of actually seeing his brother again. Yet, along side it, was a feeling of unease. There was something wrong with this.

"Wh-what are you-?" Phineas shook his head, "Ok, look Ferb, I know Doofenshmirtz is...err...evil, but, he's not that bad once you get to know him. Aside from that, if you do ANYTHING to this room, he's probably gonna kill you, or something much, much worse. And trust me, I don't want that for you."

Ferb blinked. His look disgruntled. "Seriously, when did everyone gain knowledge of my name?" he asked out loud to himself, "I mean, Ferb isn't even that common of a name!"

Phineas became confused at this as Ferb began to ramble to himself out of frustration. Okay, now he knew that something was wrong. One of the things he learned from being in DEI, its to never fall into denial; Ferb clearly had no idea who he was. The problem was, what the heck happened to cause this amnesia?

...Wait...amnesia...Amnesia-inator...

Phineas began to remember Monogram trying to break his mind back underground. He had cut him off before Monogram could say anything about Ferb, now that Phineas thought about it. Maybe...

"Uh...hello?"

Ferb snapped out of his thoughts, and looked at Phineas blankly. Not his usual blank stare, mind you, which bothered Phineas. "Ferb," Phineas continued, "Do you know anyone named Monogram, by any chance?"

Ferb smiled. "Why, of course I do," he said, "I work for him. In fact, he sent me here to collect a specific blueprint before completely annihilating the place," he paused, "Alright, so, those were in my words, but he did want me and the other mutants to blow this place up."

"WHAT?!"

"I know," Ferb shrugged, "I should have finished this pretty quickly, considering the security here; I entered here hours ago, but was never discovered. I think they might have got distracted...huh," he chuckled, "Now I'M getting distracted. I apologize, boy, but I must get going. I hope the other mutants don't dissolve this place with me inside," he dropped the frame, which shattered on the ground; Phineas flinched at this, and stared for a moment, "I must be off."

Ferb walked passed Phineas, who went over to the broken pieces, and picked up the picture. Fer didn't even notice, nor did he care, as he continued to tread down the halls. Phineas sighed. "...At least the photo isn't damaged..." he murmured, brushing the glass away from the damaged frame, and carefully picked it up, and placed it back on the drawer, "This is just perfect..."

Phineas looked back to see that Ferb was gone again. He groaned in aggravation. "So, PERFECT!"

Phineas ran back down the hall.

**A/N:**

**FINALLY! This chapter was KILLING me! DX**

**There's so much that I hate about this chapter. One, I had a headache writing this, so its probably not that great of quality. Two, that one flashback. I love fluff, but WHY?! I'm totally gonna screw this story up now! Three...headache...horrible, horrible headache. XP**

**In any case, I hope you enjoy. My word shouldn't ruin the story itself for you guys...I...I mean, I hope. XD**

**Review and follow!**

**-GTS**


	32. The Obvious Truth: Part 9

**Hi everyone! :D**

**Okay, so, these last few weeks have been, as usual, busy. Growing up sucks a lot, but I have to deal with it as everyone does. But, oh, how busy I've been! (That, and some internet drama; don't ask. It's been dealt with.) DX**

**At least I didn't wait for several months like last time...and the time before that...and before that...and that...and that...yeeeeaaaah, seems to be a running theme with me...**

**Enjoy the next chapter, and stuff! And I hope you guys had a marvelous day! XD**

**P/F/P/F**

_Ferb walked passed Phineas, who went over to the broken pieces, and picked up the picture. Fer didn't even notice, nor did he care, as he continued to tread down the halls. Phineas sighed. "...At least the photo isn't damaged..." he murmured, brushing the glass away from the damaged frame, and carefully picked it up, and placed it back on the drawer, "This is just perfect..."_

_Phineas looked back to see that Ferb was gone again. He groaned in aggravation. "So, PERFECT!"_

_Phineas ran back down the hall._

(~)

**The Obvious Truth (Part 9)**

The plan Applejack had in mind was surprisingly simple. Perry expected him to do something mind-blowingly insane with the tanks of laughing gas, but instead he took a different approach. That approach was to send the gas through the ventilation shaft, which would spread everywhere, eventually leading to the mutants invading the building, which would result in them killing themselves. Perry translated this to Schnitzel, who looked as if Applejack was insane.

"Applejack," Schnitzel sighed, "You DO realize that too much nitrous oxide could KILL someone, right? And there's a bunch of people in the building, including slaves, Cyborgs, patients...anyone else...oh, that's right, US?!"

The woman's arms spread out to emphasize her point. "Not to mention that Doofenshmirtz and Phineas are wondering around," she said, "If anything ELSE happens to them, I can't be held responsible for what I'd do! And the last time I gave Phineas that stuff...yeesh...that kid is a psycho, I tell you."

"Wait...anything else?" Perry blinked.

Schnitzel sighed. "Let's just say that we had a run in with the person whose...responsible for this mess," she groaned, "In any case, isn't there a better solution than spreading the gas throughout the building?"

Applejack hummed a bit, and looked to Perry. "As horrible as she is, she's got a point there," he said, "We can't risk anyone else's well-being. We'll have to direct the gas to one room."

Perry stared. "...HOW THE HELL CAN WE DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!"

Applejack jumped back a bit, looking shocked for a moment, before glaring softly at Perry. "Whoa, whoa, whoa," Schnitzel waved her hands forward in confusion, "What did he-?"

Perry translated once more, and Schnitzel gave a similar reaction. "The only place we'd be able to trap the gas is in a room without ventilation," she said, "And even so, that would be the equivalent of a gallon of bad milk; it'll eventually blow the door open trying to get out."

"Any other bright ideas, you-" Applejack went on, though Perry refused to translate. Seriously, what did this woman do to earn Applejack's stamp of disapproval? This was a bit much, even for him.

Schnitzel somehow managed to translate that he was insulting her, but simply rolled her eyes. "I...guess you have a point," she said, "There really isn't any other option, is there...?"

Applejack kept rambling on for a while longer, before Schnitzel impatiently cleared her throat, snapping him back to reality. Applejack finally responded with a nod of the head, earning a sigh from Perry. "Well, then," the platypus said, "Let's go crazy, then."

Perry looked to Applejack. "You and I will continue to seek out Phineas, while-"

"Wait a minute," Applejack rose a hoof up at Perry's face, earning an irritated glare from the platypus, "I don't trust 'em, Perry. What if they turn on us?"

"I don't think they'd do something like that in this situation," Perry said, "How would they even-?"

"At least let's keep an eye on them?"

"...Sigh. Fine."

Perry looked at Pinky. "You go with Applejack," he said, "I don't trust him with Schnitzel; besides, I have the translator. It would make sense if I went with her."

Pinky grunted. "aND WHy WouLD i LiSTeN To you, PLaTyPuS?"

Perry found himself cringing, guilt consuming him. Why? Applejack's talk of that "war" at OWCA was nonsense. It wasn't like there was anything he could have done. It wasn't like his presence would have changed anything...even though he was OWCA's top agent...yes, it was arrogant of him to feel that he could have done something. So he shouldn't feel bad, not too terribly anyway.

But the look of suspicion lingered, and Pinky continued to glare hatefully, particularly to Perry. Applejack was about to step in, almost as if wanting to defend Perry, only for Schnitzel to do so instead. She glared at the Cyborg General.

"Because we have better things to worry about than wondering whose going to stab who in the back," Schnitzel said, her hands on her hips, "Whether you like it or not, this remains to be the only option we have. If they try anything..." she looked at Applejack, but continued to speak to Pinky in particular, "...Then act. Right now, we probably should be more reasonable."

Pinky let out another cybernetic growl as he looked back at Perry with pure anger. The one he had been hounding down for months, along with the triangular head brat, was no an ally...a temporary one, he added, as thoughts of the aftermath geared in place. Yes. He WOULD make sure that Perry wouldn't get away. It was Doofenshmirtz's orders; and his orders trampled Schnitzel's.

Yet, it felt different when it was JUST Schnitzel there, and no one else to give the orders. True, Schnitzel was a pushover, but to the Cyborgs she was terrifying. It was no surprise, either. Her medical choices for them have always sent them running from her, even when it was simply check ups. Furthermore, Schnitzel was making far too much sense at the moment to argue. They had bigger problems than Perry, or even that rogue, Applejack.

"...VeRy WeLL..." Pinky took a step back, "I aGRee WiTH THeSe...TeRMS..."

"Then its settled," Schnitzel said before Applejack could suggest anything, "I'll go with Perry, and Pinky, you will accompany Applejack. Perry and I will look for Phineas, while you two handle the mutants."

Pinky nodded, while Applejack simply gave a look to Perry. One that seemed to be full of warning. Perry only could wonder why, as he followed Schnitzel down one way, while Applejack followed Pinky in the other. Perry realized that this had been the first time he had been separated from Applejack since he had reunited with Candace...why was that a bad sign?

**.**

**.**

**.**

It had become tedious, searching for his brother. Phineas could hardly even fathom it, even now as he continued down the halls. This too had become an annoyance, since he realized that hallways seemed to be his place of dwelling with all that he had been through. Whatever the case, Phineas was sure that he'd be able to find his brother and fix whatever may have been wrong with him; soon after, he'd probably attempt to hunt down Monogram, who managed to climb higher than Doofenshmirtz to earn his hate.

It said a lot, really. After all, Monogram only said a few things to Phineas to get on his nerves. That, and made Ferb go...insane? Not quite. Even though Ferb was out of his mind, he wasn't quite a mad-man yet. He was far too collected for that.

No, perhaps it was a form of mind-control. Or amnesia.

Wait...amnesia...

Phineas remembered the Amnesia-inator, which was currently destroyed. Perhaps Monogram used the inator on Ferb? Yes, Monogram said that he had never used the machine on a child before, but he could have been lying. It certainly made sense of why Ferb forgot Phineas to begin with; I mean, who would forget a head like his? That's like forgetting how to breathe.

Phineas took a breathe, telling himself that now was not the time to think back to that. What mattered was finding Ferb. He thought more into it. "If I were Ferb," he mused, "Where would I be..."

Thinking back to their short encounter in Vanessa's room, he recalled Ferb in search of something important. And if he knew Ferb well enough, he'd say that it was a machine in particular.

Phineas grinned. "Doofenshmirtz's inventions," he declared, "I bet Ferb's looking for that Inventing Room." he paused, "Man, that's a stupid name. Schnitzel needs to come up with better material than that."

The boy began to head towards the stairs, heading straight to the said room. If his hunch was right, then Ferb would already be there, causing who knows what kind of disaster. Phineas began to think back to the Chandelier room, and the Inventing room. Clearly, these things paid monument to something of importance to Doofenshmirtz, and if Phineas thought correctly...

Phineas shook his head. This day just kept getting better and better, didn't it?

**.**

**.**

**.**

"Okay, so far we have no leads as to where that little pipsqueak could possibly be. From what I can gather, he's probably looking for that green-headed kid-"

"Ferb."

"Right, right," Schnitzel shook her head, "Sorry. I'm not that good with names, ya see...come to think of it, I haven't seen the kid since..."

The woman thought back to the last point in which she had seen Ferb. Along with Danni, in fact. She shook her head. "Never mind that," she sighed, and looked over to Perry, "By the by, I'm...curious. From what I can tell, other than maybe a few agents, most of them don't usually have owners."

"You'd be surprised," Perry stated, "A lot of us have or had families as cover-ups. No one really suspects pets to do anything outside of eating and doing tricks. Maybe even snuggling up to some little kids and looking cute."

"Wouldn't they have been suspicious about you, though? You're a platypus; that's kinda exotic."

"Those are legal. It's not like we have venomous bites or anything like that."

Schnitzel thought this over for a moment. "...Wait, you don't?"

"No. Male platypuses have poisonous spurs on the back of their feet that they use for self-defense, but I had those removed a while back in my life, even before meeting my owners. Something to do with the process of things, I guess. Why do you ask?"

"...Huh...the author's note is completely out of context."

"You're starting to sound an awful lot like Applejack," Perry glared, "And trust me, that's not a good sign."

Schnitzel rolled her eyes. "Don't even get me started with goat-breath," she said, "It was always the same with him, bursting in and breaking stuff for no real reason or rhyme other than to make life into a living hell. He was just being a nuisance, sent by OWCA or what-not..."

Perry slid to a stop, looking up at Schnitzel in confusion. Wait. Hold on a minute...it made sense now. "You were Applejack's nemesis, weren't you?" he asked, "That's how you two knew each other. And that must be why Applejack's so cross with you."

Schnitzel stopped at those words, suddenly looking far into dark corners, almost leaving Perry behind as she treaded forward. She looked at Perry scornfully. "Used to be," she said, rather coldly, "As for why he's such a sourpuss towards me, our affiliations have nothing to do with it. That's all in the past...it's a long story. I don't want to delve too deep into it right now. What matters is finding that stupid kid and getting back to Doofenshmirtz..."

Perry simply nodded at this, having to leave the information alone for now. Schnitzel's curiosity perked, however, and she looked back to the platypus. "Say, why did you go with that kid and his siblings anyway?" she asked, "I mean, yeah, many agents back then had owners, but at the time that Doofenshmirtz took over you must admit getting one for yourself would have been...risky. Doofenshmirtz would have killed you, or more likely even turn you into a Cyborg. Why take that risk when you could have been more concealed other ways?"

Perry didn't give an exact answer. He wouldn't have been able to, anyway. It wasn't like he had thought into it much. He looked over up at Schnitzel. "Like you said," Perry sighed, "It's not important. We should keep looking, before we run into one of those things again."

"Mutants," Schnitzel merely answered, "Did you know about any of this? Any of Monogram's...?"

"Monogram?" Perry began to nod his head, "Right...right...I don't know. How could I, anyway? Once I got my family, I fell from OWCA, I guess. Sure, I still went on missions from time to time, but I stopped getting Intel from Monogram, or even Carl for that matter. So, really, I'm as much in the dark as anyone else."

"But...that doesn't make any sense," Schnitzel shook her head, "You couldn't have dropped from OWCA; at the time this whole thing developed, most likely you were still training Applejack."

There was a long, deathly pause. Perry slowly looked back to Schnitzel. "...What did you say?" he said, almost too softly to be heard.

Schnitzel went straight back to being confused. "Uh...you...should have been training Applejack still," she said, "So, there's no way that you could have-"

"That's just it. I don't remember ever training him. At all."

Schnitzel looked at Perry in shock. "What do you...wait...that..." she shook her head, "Ugh...this is just ridiculous! Even you?!"

The idea had flashed in far beyond seconds the moment Perry had uttered the words. Schnitzel began to piece together that, perhaps, Monogram used the Amnesia-inator on Perry at one point. It would be all too easy to point the blame at the Major, yet there were some flaws she needed to work out. For starters, why didn't he just turn Perry into a mutant like the other agents that remained in OWCA at the time?

Then there was the capabilities of such a machine to work on animal minds. Sure, since OWCA had conducted similar experiments on the animals for them to work the way they did, of course there was some humanity to them, but there was also the fact that they still had the same instincts that they had while they were completely mindless. They were still animals, whether they thought humanely or not.

So, given the chances that the Amnesia-inator would be able to work on Perry, what about the reasons behind it all? If Monogram had resorted to mind-wiping Perry then that would have to mean that there must have been something else at play here. Monogram had a lot of secrets, didn't he? The only question to remain unsolved was what that secret was.

Schnitzel would have to talk to Doofenshmirtz about this.

"What do you mean 'even me'?" Perry blinked, "You mean it's true? I mentored him?"

"Well, that's what he told me," Schnitzel admitted, though looked very sure of herself, "Applejack did a lot of things to me; but he doesn't lie."

Perry glared at this statement. Of course. She had no real evidence to go by, other than Applejack's own words. "He lied to _me_," he said turning away, "Sure, it was to keep me from Doofenshmirtz, but he also kept me from my owner."

"Alright, so, my wording's a little off," Schnitzel admitted, "Applejack doesn't lie or do anything without a reason behind it, is what I should have said. Sure, he's annoying, a pain, and very unforgiving," she looked to the side with a moment of regret, "But he always has a reason behind every action. Ever heard of the saying, 'there's method to my madness'?"

"Shakespeare isn't alive to defend Applejack's actions," Perry stated, "He's driven me up the wall. Sometimes literally."

"Shakespeare or Applejack?"

"Okay, now you ARE sounding like Applejack. Choose your words more wisely, otherwise our first meeting's gonna get off on a wrong foot."

"Alright, alright, fine," Schnitzel sighed, "Look, I've had a stressful day. I mean, I fell of a building, was chased by a giant rabbit, and was nearly eaten by a giant sea monster. I'm prone to taking a crack at things when I've taken a beating, alright?"

"I don't need your life story."

"Huh. You're a lot like the stupid kid too, in that you hold no regard for me at all."

"So? I just want to find my owner and end this awful nightmare."

Schnitzel smirked a little. "You really think that Doofenshmirtz is gonna let you take him just like that?" she asked, "You should know him better than that, Perry. The first thing he's probably gonna do to you is have you turned into a Cyborg."

Perry glanced up at Schnitzel. "I thought we were on the same page here."

"We are," Schnitzel nodded in agreement, "But we're not friends, either. Believe me, as much as I'd love to knock you clean and give you to Doofenshmirtz myself, we have a common enemy that needs to be dealt with first. I may not be the strongest, nor the smartest, but I know a lot of things. I act on gut feeling; and my gut tells me that you'll be useful for now, until we find the kid."

"What does your gut tell you after that?"

"It says that Doofus will handle it from there," Schnitzel said with a shrug, "And, trust me, whether I cared or not, there's no use talking him down. His enemy is my enemy. That's how its always been."

"So you just do what he says without caring about the results?"

"That couldn't be farther from the truth. I do care about what happens to people, believe me. I've just learned to do my job, accept whatever happens, and move on from it. Of course, I never really have, but it's still worth it to me. You wouldn't understand."

The both stopped talking to each other after that. Schnitzel could see Perry and Doofenshmirtz's relationship going swell. She had to admit, before all of this had happened years ago, the few times Doofenshmirtz had brought Perry up, she almost thought that he was bisexual until she realized that he was talking about an animal agent. Schnitzel flinched at the memory of Doofenshmirtz proceeding to chase her down with a pole, attempting to smack her for coming to that conclusion to begin with.

Schnitzel shook her head, an action that she seemed to be repeating today along with certain others such as blinking more than usually. Why was she even thinking about that? Her mind just loved to wander, didn't it? Stupid brain, that made her "conscience" sound like Doofenshmirtz for some reason.

Of course, she wasn't the only one drifting into thought. As a matter of fact, Perry had been doing that a lot lately, ever since all of this began. The thoughts grew now that he knew of Monogram's doing, and Ferb's growing insanity, and the relations between Doofenshmirtz and Phineas. No. He dare not say that Doofenshmirtz was Phineas's...bah! It was insane.

How could he not have known this before? Monogram must have, to be sure of it. Was that the reason why Monogram had OWCA cut ties with him? It made no real sense to Perry. He was their top agent, they could have at least warned him...not that it would stop him anyway.

**.**

**.**

**.**

_Agent Platypus (alias Agent P) was one of OWCA's best agent experiments. Monogram had conducted them for years, with many failures due to casualties. Not to mention that, apparently, the type of sciences that went into the project were unethical and illegal. To put it simple, Monogram had attempted to give animals more awareness, and more human aspects._

_It wasn't that Agent P even looked human; he was still a platypus. But after changing the structure of his bones and the mindless thoughts in his head, he became more manageable in OWCA. In fact, Perry, having been the most mindless before the experiments were conducted, he arguably became the most level-headed of them all, leading to him being the best of the best._

_However, with a human mind came a free will, which led to some rebellion in OWCA. Some of which was supposedly stirred by Doofenshmirtz, though these were only rumors that Monogram assumed. He had been obsessing over defeating Doofenshmirtz, hadn't he? Agent P couldn't understand why that was. He had known Doofenshmirtz for a while, and he honestly didn't see the mad-man that the Major had described._

_Then Doofenshmirtz took over, and what Monogram had said made so much sense._

_Agent P had kept himself away from OWCA after that, assuming that the base would be in less danger that way. He had no idea that there had been war at OWCA, nor did he want to believe it. Admittedly, Schnitzel had a point about Applejack, and the goat wasn't a complete nuisance. But he was still a big liar to Perry, even though, yes, he only really lied to him that one time, along with a few white ones that really didn't matter._

_In any case, Agent P had assumed that Doofenshmirtz would focus all his energy on trying to take Perry, his nemesis, down like he always did. Perry knew that the dictator probably had changed in more ways than he had assumed, but Perry liked to think that there was still the same "evil" scientist that he knew in the past; after all, Doofenshmirtz had been like a friend to him, his closest even. It was Doofenshmirtz who gave him his name, for heaven's sake. _

_The plan he had conducted never included..._

_"Hey, Ferb! Come over here! I found something!"_

_"..."_

_"I know. It looks weird; what is it? It looks like a duck-beaver thing."_

_"...Ornithorhynchus anatinus, also known as the duck-billed platypus, a s__emiaquatic egg-laying mammal endemic to eastern Australia."_

_"Oh...well, what's one doing in the middle of Danville?"_

_"..."_

_"Aaaah, that makes sense. Well, he doesn't really look too good...should we bring him inside?"_

_"..."_

_"Yeah, good idea, Ferb! I'll get a blanket, and we can carry him in."_

_Perry honestly didn't remember much of how it happened. He injured himself during a storm, perhaps, and ended up in the Flynn-Fletcher's backyard. At the time, Phineas and Ferb liked to sneak out into the backyard to look at the sunshine during the day, and the stars during the night. They'd build things unimaginable, though they learned to be careful with showing their talents off._

_Before they could even start with today's projects, Phineas, of course, had found him. With silent assurance from Ferb, the two nursed Perry back to health. Candace, their older sister who had the voice of a cheese grater at the time, didn't really approve of Perry. Perhaps she always knew who she was; she had figured it out pretty quickly, now that Perry thought about it. By the time she had formed the Resistance, which was actually a few months from now, she would grow to accept him into their family like Phineas and Ferb had._

_Perry suddenly found himself being attached to them. He had heard from many agents who had owners themselves not to get close to them. Eventually, they'd outgrow you, or you would have to leave them anyways, they would tell him. Most of this was true, but Perry didn't, nor could he, listen to any of them. He promised to keep Phineas and Ferb safe the moment he came to terms with this, and he stayed put in their house until the Resistance had been formed._

_He briefly joined the Resistance, as did Pinky and Olive, who spoke nothing of what happened to OWCA. Olive, an otter who worked as a spy more than an agent, seemed to most traumatized, while Pinky appeared unforgiving towards her. Still, they had a silent agreement not to speak of the events that had scarred them, not even to Perry, who simply had to accept it as it was._

_Of course, after Candace had moved the Resistance to a different location, she left Perry with dealing with Phineas. This had been, of course, after Lawrence, the boys' father, had died, and Ferb had left. Oh, and Linda had gone completely mad. That had been one of the driving points that led Phineas to running away in the first place._

_The first thing Perry remembered after Candace left, never coming back, was that Phineas seemed to lose that light he had in his eyes. Ferb was undoubtedly the closest friend he would ever have, and was probably closer to him than even his blood relatives. But Candace was still his sister, and he had known her longer than Ferb. Phineas was truly on his own after Candace left him to deal with Linda on his own, especially since Perry could do nothing about it without revealing who he was. _

_Sure, Perry was no longer affiliated with OWCA technically, but Candace left that under instruction not to reveal himself to Phineas at all. __Perry continued to wonder why that was, but did as he was told anyway._

_Another thing that Perry had noticed about Phineas, was how hard he tried for his mother. He tried to stay strong, in spite his mother becoming so cruel. Maybe that's how Phineas was able to handle Doofenshmirtz for so long, Perry supposed. Phineas had loved his mother too much not to give her anything less than his best._

_Of course, his best wasn't enough, and Phineas eventually realized that there was nothing he could do for his mother. That's when he found the letter from his father. Looking back to it, Perry couldn't help but feel that it had been...rushed. Like the person writing it was in a hurry. That would explain why he told Phineas to come and look for him; something had happened._

_This thought never left Perry, and ever since they left to find the truth he couldn't help but feel that he was piecing it all together of what had happened the day the letter was written. It was missing something, but he was sure of it now. It was all making sense so far, given the circumstances, and all he had been told. Yet, something was missing to the theory he had in mind._

_The Norm-Bots had found them once more, as persistent as they ever were. It was starting to get annoying to Perry, having enough of seeing robots or anything metal in spite Phineas's passion. Speaking of Phineas, his logic dictated that the best place to hide was in a graveyard. Well, not there specifically, but it was the closest place he was at. Perry insinuated that Phineas wanted to visit Lawrence, though his owner really didn't want to admit that he hadn't really moved on from that just yet._

_It had come to a point when there was nowhere for them to go. Phineas and Perry were both surrounded by Norm-Bots, while Cyborgs were probably hidden about. At this point, Perry had begun to panic as Phineas looked like he was going to try to run. And once he would, Perry was certain that a Norm-Bot would shoot them both. Neither of them would be able to survive that._

_Before Phineas could act, Perry did, and all their attention turned to the platypus. Perry took down one of the Norm-Bots with ease, and time seemed to slow down as he tore off its arm, and shot at the other surrounding Norm-Bots. All fell to silence as time began to turn once more. Perry could only see Phineas's look of horror._

_"Perry?"_

_Perry stared at Phineas, wondering how he could explain his actions. Then, all became black, and all he could hear was someone screaming out his name._

**.**

**.**

**.**

Doors were blasted down to the ground in a heap, nearly bringing the wall down with it. Ferb grinned at the display of giant pieces of machinery, almost having a similar reaction to Phineas when he first found the room. Speaking of which, Ferb glanced up, seeing a hole in the ceiling. He became curious.

"Odd...an attack, perhaps?" Ferb hummed a bit before looking away, "No matter. I'll figure it out another time. Now, where were we?"

"How about backing off, for starters?"

Ferb turned around, seeing Phineas trying to glare him down. The boy wasn't intimidating in the slightest, given that he looked like he was hesitating. Ferb could practically smell it from across the room. He smirked. "Very persistent, aren't we?" Ferb chuckled, "You people don't know when to give in."

"Listen to me," Phineas said, taking a few steps towards Ferb, "You don't wanna do this, whether or not Doofenshmirtz is your enemy. This shouldn't be a main priority for you. He WILL kill you when he gets the chance, and I won't be able to stop him. You already messed with-"

Ferb rose up a hand, silencing Phineas. "I'm not here for warnings," Ferb said, "I don't need them. I've been trained specifically to deal with Doofenshmirtz, and I refuse to fail."

"But," Phineas looked around the room of machinery, "Okay...let's just say that you can handle whatever Doofenshmirtz will have in store for you. What exactly are you planning, anyway?"

Ferb stared blankly for a moment. His other hand reached for his belt. He took out a tape-sized box, showing Phineas, who stared in wonder. "Seeing as you're being rather inquisitive," Ferb said, "The plan is simple. This device here is actually an exothermic reactor, that doubles as a magnet. I'm to place it onto a piece of machinery, any of them would do in this case, and flee the premise."

Phineas looked confused for a while, before realizing. "Exothermic reactor...that thing is a bomb?!" he stared at the device, "Ferb, seriously, let's think about this-!"

"I've thought the plan through multiple times," Ferb said, walking over to one of the machines that looked like a giant laser, "And the only thing that would cause any problems would be if anything were to get in my way. Explosions won't be able to kill the other agents, and the Cyborgs, if they survive, will be detained."

"So, what, this is some sort of suicidal rescue mission?"

"Far from it," Ferb said, "I said detained for a reason; the objective is to destroy DEI. If that fails, then all of his devices will be tarnished at the very least. Doofenshmirtz would be out of his way. Initially, I was to seek out one device, but the details were given to me vaguely. He'll have to make due without it, since I've no time to waste. Now, if you excuse me-"

As Ferb turned, Phineas quickly went over to him, grabbing his arm. "Ferb, please," Phineas said, "This isn't you."

Ferb looked back to Phineas, glaring irritably. Phineas swallowed a bit, realizing the error of his actions. In spite this, he continued to try and sway him. "C'mon, bro," Phineas gave a weak smile, "You've gotta remember me. You just-URF!"

Phineas grabbed his stomach and collapsed to the ground as Ferb reeled his fist back. The red headed child looked up in shock, as Ferb placed the bomb back onto his belt. He cracked his fists. "I am not one for games," he said lowly, "You've made a poor introduction of yourself, _Phineas_."

Phineas looked up at Ferb weakly, grinning shyly. "W-well, you remember my name," he chuckled, "That's...that's gotta be a good sign."

"I heard your name from Monogram," Ferb simply said, "He's had his eyes on you for a long time..."

"What are you-?"

Ferb tore off a weapon from his belt, and it whizzed as he aimed it at Phineas. The boy reacted by rolling out of the way, and landing back to his feet. Ferb quickly aimed once more, before Phineas took out his crossbow-laser, and shot out the hook at Ferb, which tied around his body, pulling him to the ground and causing him to drop his weapon. "Ferb, please, don't make me do this," Phineas begged, "I don't wanna hurt you!"

Ferb growled, flipping his body up, and as if the rope had the strength of spider webs tore them off with ease. He grabbed the rope that was still attached to the laser, and pulled the weapon away from Phineas, tossing it to the wall. He stood and began to use the remains of the hook, spinning it in the air. He ran straight to Phineas, who began to quickly back away from his brother. Phineas let out a shriek as he ducked down, just as Ferb began to swing, sending the hook through another machine. It sparked from the collision.

Ferb turned to seek out Phineas, who had fled into the cover of the many machines that were aligned in the room. Phineas hid behind a machine that looked like a series of televisions, similar to what the machine he and Schnitzel had tampered with before heading underground. Phineas heard Ferb knocking over a series of machinery, each crashing sound causing Phineas to flinch. Phineas swallowed hard. "Listen to me," he called from his hiding place, "Monogram's not your friend! And if he convinced you that he's trying to help you, or something then you're wrong!"

"Come out, come out," Ferb gleamed, ignoring Phineas's words, "I'm not gonna hurt you...I'm just gonna bash your brains out."

"Can't we talk about this civilly?"

"We would have, but then you decided to get in my way. I warned you, didn't I? Now, if you won't come out then I suppose I have no choice but to play along. Keep talking; let's see if I can guess where you are."

Phineas felt his heart race, as he began to sneak off to another hiding spot, feeling Ferb coming closer to his current one. He heard a blast, barely missing death. Ferb must have picked up the weapon he dropped. Phineas heard a disappointed sigh from his brother. "Darn," Ferb snapped his fingers, "I was sure you were back here. No running, please; I want to end this quickly."

Phineas looked around, the corner of his eyes aiming straight for his laser. Praying that it still worked, Phineas began to stealthily move behind machine to machine, glancing around to see if Ferb was anywhere to be seen. Ferb talked a while more, going into another inane ramble, before his voice stopped in midsentence as if he shut himself up. Phineas clung to another machine as he heard another blast discharge.

Phineas glared at his laser, squeezing his fists shut. He readied to sprint towards the weapon, glancing once more before acting. He heard more blasts from behind as he began to slide his body on the ground, reaching forward. Just inches away from his laser, another blast beat him to it, launching it one way, and Phineas the other. Phineas slid against a large laser, which rolled away on its small black wheels. Phineas grabbed his side, and flinched, as he realized that his hands felt like they were on fire.

Ferb began walking over to Phineas, who struggled to try and get up to his knees, only to feel his brother push him back down with his foot. Phineas let out a cry of pain as Ferb pushed his foot down hard on his spine. Ferb leaned down, glaring. "This is your last chance," he said, "Stay out of my way, and I will spare you long enough to give you a much less painful demise."

The green-haired boy took his foot off, earning a grunt from Phineas, who nearly curled up in pain. Ferb didn't notice Phineas trying to push himself up in spite his pain. Phineas swore that his hands were bleeding, and his spine had become damaged much like before. He stared at Ferb, feeling something inside him break.

This wasn't the brother he knew.

Ferb stopped what he was doing as he felt something grab his ankle. He looked down, seeing Phineas looking up at him pleadingly as he latched a hand onto his brother's leg. "Ferb...please..." Phineas said, trying to find the strength to move back up to his feet, using Ferb as leverage, "You don't want to do this...Doofenshmirtz isn't the-"

Phineas let out a small gasp as Ferb kicked him off, sending him back to the floor. Ferb aimed his weapon at Phineas's face, casting a rather casual look shrouded in shadow. "I apologize," Ferb said politely, "But I cannot have anymore interruptions. I did warn you, to be fair. Its your own fault that you allowed yourself to do this."

Phineas stared as the weapon charged, and continued to do so with a gaped mouth. It was like a nightmare, and it was. It had to be. Ferb would never do this to him. Doofenshmirtz never took over the Tri-State Area; Monogram didn't exist; he didn't even CARE that his father existed or not. It was just him, Ferb, and their friends, playing and smiling, doing the things they loved. It was only these things that flashed throughout his mind, because that's what he had wanted more than anything right now.

But he knew too well, optimism could not overshadow truths. Phineas clenched his eyes shut, locked his teeth, bracing himself seconds before a blow to Ferb's head. The weapon fired, barely missing Phineas. Ferb stumbled to the ground, as another came for another swing. "Don't you DARE touch him!"

Phineas knew that voice. "...Da...Doofen...?"

He had just noticed now that Doofenshmirtz's voice had seemed to split in two. It was all in his head, clearly. Yet, it felt like there were two people coming to his rescue. One that he had longed to know for most of his life, the other he had gotten to know. Yet both came from one person; it was one voice, not two. Phineas had only noticed NOW that Doofenshmirtz sounded a lot like...

"...Dad...?"

Doofenshmirtz heard nothing, as he struggled to pin Ferb down. "Calm down, kid," the dictator growled, "I don't wanna hurt-URF!"

Ferb landed a kick in Doofenshmirtz's stomach. Unlike Schnitzel to Phineas's attack, the dictator cringed in pain, but refused to move. He swallowed hard, glaring down at Ferb. "I am NOT fighting you!" Doofenshmirtz yelled in the boy's face, "Calm. Down."

Ferb let out a cackle, his calmness having diminished at this point. "Clearly, I cannot escape the inevitable," he said more to himself, "I should probably rid myself of ANYMORE travesty," he focused back to Doofenshmirtz, "I'll kill YOU first, then!"

Doofenshmirtz nearly scoffed as he tightened his grip. To his surprise, Ferb managed to overpower him, and threw Doofenshmirtz off. Phineas watched as Ferb rose to his feet without a sweat, as he began to stride over to Doofenshmirtz, who also managed to find his footing. Phineas glanced to a particular machine, barely feet away from Doofenshmirtz. He stared at it.

"Normally, I would love to pound a member of Monogram's little squad of sorts," Doofenshmirtz stated, slowly beginning to circle Ferb, who did the same as he aimed his weapon, "But clearly, you're being manipulated. You don't even remember who you are, thanks to that freak."

Ferb chuckled darkly. "All I remember," he said, "Is all the horrible things you've done," Ferb slowly began to cast the darkest of glares, "And what you've done to ME."

"No one's perfect."

Ferb snarled.

"Not the best choice of words," Doofenshmirtz admitted, "And I can't say that I'm the good-guy. Even after all of this, I'll remain the higher authority. But trust me, Monogram is no better. If anything, he's just as bad as me. Helping him won't change anything."

"Then perhaps you are saying I should murder both of you?"

Doofenshmirtz stared. Had that been Ferb's intention? Had Ferb known? Or had Ferb simply insinuated that Doofenshmirtz was toying with his mind, and the boy decided to do the same to him? Ferb smiled again, rage still eminent for all to see.

"I am a very impatient young man," Ferb admitted, "Very unprofessionally so, indeed. It is one of my greatest flaws. However, it is a tool. I have killed plenty, and have butchered few. I always get the job done, regardless. And there will be a floor of blood if there need be."

Doofenshmirtz continued to glare. "I'm not fighting you."

"And why not? Why would you spare me of your might? You've harmed plenty of others."

"You're not worth it."

"Neither was SHE, Doofenshmirtz. I remember no name but HERS. You took HER away from me!"

The weapon charged again, and Doofenshmirtz stayed in place, glaring. He prepared to dodge.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME!" Ferb screamed, before his pupils shrunk.

Doofenshmirtz was taken aback as Ferb simply began to stare at him. The weapon dropped to the ground, as Ferb seemed to fall into a trance. His arms dropped to the side, as he blankly watched swirls of color that glowed right behind Doofenshmirtz, who gave a glance before shielding his eyes. He saw Phineas, glaring at Ferb, holding the microphone in his hands. Behind the glare, was disappointment and pain.

"Sit down!" Phineas yelled into the mic, Ferb obeying like a dog, his body moving like a puppet, "Remain still!"

Phineas handed the microphone to Doofenshmirtz, who took it with caution as Phineas went over to his brother. The tears that had been locked away all these months, finally came in small amounts as he went over to his brother, staring at him in anger and sadness. Phineas took a breath, putting a hand over Ferb's neck.

_Pinch!_

Ferb fell to the side, having suddenly fallen unconscious. Doofenshmirtz almost thought the Phineas had snapped Ferb's neck, when he realized that it was a mere pinch to the nerve that had knocked him out entirely as he saw the green-haired maniac's chest rise and fall. Phineas continued to stare at Ferb, unable to suck back the tears that were forming into rivers. Phineas fell to his knees, gritting his teeth as he glared harshly at Ferb for doing this to him. "I'm sorry...Ferb I...I'm so sorry..."

Doofenshmirtz watched Phineas cry, as if the boy had forgotten he was even there. The dictator focused on turning off the machine before moving over to the child gingerly, unsure of what to do. He knelt by the child, the two in silence as Phineas continued to simply look at his brother. Doofenshmirtz looked at Ferb, and almost saw his dead brother as he tried to find the words to say to the pain-filled child sitting beside him.

"...You didn't kill him, you know."

Phineas flinched, and looked to Doofenshmirtz remembering the world's existence. Phineas stared at Doofenshmirtz, who watched the boy from the corner of his eye. "He's probably going to be fine..." Doofenshmirtz realized that his words came out harsher than he had meant, though Phineas simply continued to silently stare, "You did nothing wrong."

Phineas didn't know why those words were the breaking point. Why hadn't he thought of it before, anyway? He took a raspy breath, and looked to his knees. "...I never asked for this..."

Doofenshmirtz stared at the child fully. Phineas breathed again. "I never asked for any of it," he said, "I never wanted to be here, working for you. I never wanted to meet Schnitzel, or any of the Cyborgs like Pinky and Peter. I never wanted to get to know you, or realize that you were never a monster, whether you like to admit that or not. I never wanted to deal with Monogram, or that nerd-guy, or..."

Phineas shook his head, the tears coming in much faster. "...I just...wanted to..." the boy covered his face with his hands, sob wracking his whole body as he shuddered, "Was it so much to ask...was I reaching too far...was I in the wrong...if so...I'd like ANSWERS for once...just...once...I just wanted to meet him...and look where it led me..."

Doofenshmirtz remained silent as he listened to Phineas's rant. Phineas seemed to turn all his frustrations at him at this point, as the dictator found the boy glaring at him. "I face Cyborgs and Norm-Bots," he said, "I spent nights alone with my only companion, who spoke NOTHING. I ran away from the ONLY PERSON who remained in my family, having enough of her insanity and abuse. I dealt with YOU and your frigging partner! And I endured it ALL just to find someone who..."

Phineas squeezed his eyes shut and screamed. "WHY DID HE LEAVE?! WHY DID HE LEAVE THAT LETTER?! WHY DID HE LET THIS HAPPEN?! WHY DID HE LEAVE **ME**_?!"_

Phineas grabbed his hair, rubbing his head as he kept asking "why" over and over again. Doofenshmirtz continued to watch the child vent over his misadventures, over all the suffering and remorse. The dictator was not used to being sympathetic; not like his son had been to him. But he knew a few things about it from others.

Phineas flinched once more as he felt two arms pulling him into a hug. Doofenshmirtz sighed, as he silently comforted the boy, who stared up for a moment in shock. Phineas was quieted by this action, as he found himself clinging to Doofenshmirtz, leaning his head onto the dictator's side. The tears continued to fall, and eventually Phineas found himself wailing into Doofenshmirtz's side, rubbing them all into the black fabric. Doofenshmirtz continued to say nothing.

**A/N:**

**Tell me; did I kill this yet? I mean, I'm not used to writing this kind of fluff like I used to back when I was a noob at this (and when I was into Invader Zim, but that's besides the point). I'm more used to driving the characters crazy and stuff; I mean, I built up to this and actually planned something similar to this scene, but I don't know...is it too much? I'm just glad that I didn't have Doofenshmirtz say anything (yet). That would have been weird...I mean, there are weird stuff in this fic, like Doofenshmirtz having prosthetic forearms (which even shocked me), but...never mind. I'm probably overanalyzing what I did.**

**I hope you guys liked it; read (if you just decided to read the A/N, which is fine if you did), review, and follow please! :D**

**-GTS**


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